Deception
by beautifulramblingbrains
Summary: With a Father in power and a past based on rumors, a story of deception entails.
1. Chapter 1

Eric Coulter.

She remembers the first time she had set eyes upon him. He was eighteen and she was sixteen, two years away from her initiation and he had only just passed. But he had passed with tremendously flying colors.

Throughout his time there, she received small snippets of information and overheard run-downs of how this remarkable young man had slipped through the ranks unexpectedly, claiming the top spot for most of the begrudging ten weeks; all from her father.

Her father praising someone so highly was unusual.

She'd sat at the dinner table that adjoined the kitchen, finishing her dinner after getting home from curfew, listening to her younger twin sisters mumble in their bedroom just down the hall. She was flicking through some pages of a book, chewing slowly, not paying much attention to the food or her surroundings when her father entered the apartment. It was later than usual, and the smell of beer on his breath was obvious when he bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"Hello, darling. I'm sorry it's so late," her father had said in passing and she had merely shrugged, barely glancing up from the table, still slouched back and entertaining herself with her book. "You can come in!" her father had called from the fridge in the kitchen and curiosity made her pull her eyes away.

That was the first time she had seen him.

Hands pocketed, Eric stopped in the archway in front of her, shoulders broad but still growing into his obviously bulky form. He looked much older than eighteen and had already invested much time shaping himself into a true Dauntless member. His leadership tattoos on his neck were already clearly presented, his arms decorated, and piercings glinting. She watched his eyes mainly as they scanned the room and then fell on her. She had only smiled, unprepared for visitors, and sat up straighter.

"Hi," was her only conscious effort, and his expression didn't change.

"Hi."

Her father then interrupted the awkwardness, setting two glasses on the table and disappeared again back into the kitchen. She had watched the new leader take a seat in front of her, lacing his hands together on the table and then suddenly knew why he'd gotten to where he was in such a short amount of time – he already looked settled and completely confident in his new position.

He was trained solely by Mick, her father, to gain Leadership the moment he passed. Being hand-picked by the main voice of Dauntless out of the five other leaders was extremely promising.

"That's Eric," Mick called casually from the kitchen and she merely nodded, still smiling. "Eric, that's my eldest daughter, Kate."

"Figured," his voice rumbled lowly as he spoke, it was too low for her father to hear and she in return fought her expression to stay neutral at his bluntness.

Eric's eyes dropped to the book she was reading, and she closed it. "This book is…" she scans the cover quickly. "Volume Three, explaining the changes made to the train lines and mechanical adjustments that they implemented hundreds of years ago." She had felt unsure as she glanced back up to him. She already had the indication that he wasn't much of a talker and by now had probably already said too much for his liking.

"Interesting." Eric sounded bored and it disheartened her further.

"Dad makes me read them."

Eric doesn't even reply this time and it had made her feel like he was a lost cause, but also question why her father finds him so promising when their social attitudes were so different. At least her father would talk.

"Anyway, good night." Sliding her chair back and gathering her cutlery and book, she passed her father in the kitchen to dump her plate and whispered, "I don't like him," receiving only a frown and a flick of his wrist for her to go to her room.

Smiling modestly when back in Eric's view, she was quick to take the hallway and disappear into the depths of her bedroom.

After their first meeting, Eric seemed to always be around. Her twin sisters, Regina and Rose, would make it sickly obvious they fancied him by their disastrous attempts at flirting with him. Their unabashed blatantly organized routine would always make sure they were around when Eric was in the evenings. Kate never saw the attraction, though. He had the personality of a wet rag and vowed to stay as far away as possible, keep their interactions to the utmost minimum. But it was sometimes hard when that person was continuously invited by her father to join them.

Kate managed to read to volume six of her books before they spoke again.

"The infrastructure of the wall and maintenance checks." She'd heard Eric's voice behind her, coming from one of the rooms, and he'd come to a stop beside the kitchen table next to her. She hadn't even realized he was there.

"Is dad here?" Kate's question was forced, unknowing of how to reply with such little time to gather her thoughts.

"In his office." He'd motioned his head down the hall.

"Oh… thanks."

"Why are you reading this? Non-members shouldn't know the full workings or history of Dauntless until they pass. _If_ they pass."

"I find it interesting. Dad said I should read them." She'd shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to take any notice of the tone in his voice that was belligerent. "I'm trying to figure out whether I should go into Mechanics or Public Services here at Dauntless after I pass. I'm kind of swayed by Public Services at the moment. At least then I won't be stuck in one place for too long."

"Policing comes under Public Services." He'd said it gruffly as if she wouldn't be capable of the task and it had made her frown to the book, then look over her shoulder to his back as he'd strolled back towards her father's office.

When Kate reached seventeen, Eric had dinner with her and her family most often than not.

One day after the meal, her father retreated to the kitchen with her step-mother, and the twins disappeared towards their bedroom, getting ready for a night out or whatever else the troubling two-some would usually be up to.

Eric had gotten up from the table opposite Kate and rounded into the seat next to her, taking his time as he did so. She'd eyed him suspiciously, waiting as he falsely grinned for a split second, then dropped back into his usual bland expression. "Lorraine?" He'd raised an eyebrow with the question once he had gotten comfortable, leaning on the table in front of him.

"She is my step-mother, not my real mom." She insinuated the old-fashioned hairstyle and jewelry swamped woman in the kitchen with a tilt of her head.

Eric nodded, smirking. "So, what they say is true?"

It was the first time in a year he'd even bothered to get within a couple of feet of her and to ask such personal questions. "Don't listen to every rumor you ever hear." She'd flicked a crumb across the table, then scoffed. "But this one is _probably_ true."

"I knew it was true because you look nothing like her, or your sisters. I've noticed the difference and your preference to call her Lorraine for a while."

As he spoke, she had shaken her head, turning to look at him. "Half-sisters." She glanced over his shoulder to make sure her dad wasn't listening, then back to him. His unwavering stare was unsettling and she stammered slightly over her words. "My mom… she was Amity," she whispered. "She died when I was little. I don't remember her." She dropped her eyes slightly while admitting something that had been torturing her for a long time. The only thing she had left was a crumpled picture that had seen better days. "I've been living with Lorraine and my dad ever since. Dauntless is all I know."

"So, in your aptitude you got Amity?"

Kate thought about the test she took when she had just turned sixteen that determined their future. "Dauntless. I guess my dad's genes are stronger." She watched his lip lift a little in her grave humor. "I think there is still a little Amity in me though."

"Sense of adventure? Curiosity?"

Kate smiled toothily, chuckling to herself. "Patience. My sisters are daft, and me and Lorraine don't always particularly see eye to eye."

"Looks like you got all the brains."

"See, _that's_ what I keep telling them, but they don't listen." It was the first time she ever heard Eric Coulter, the young Leader, the ruthless tyrant, laugh. With his barriers down, she decided it would be an appropriate time to pry further. "How is Leadership going?"

"Can you keep a secret?" he had whispered, and Kate nodded. "It's not all it's cracked up to be… A lot of paperwork." He'd spoken dismissively, shrugging back into the chair, and she'd found the way his nose scrunched up kind of cute.

Cute. She never thought she'd use that word in any way to describe Eric. "Well, your secret is safe with me."

"Oh, that's only one of many."

"What other secrets are you keeping from me?" Kate then suddenly realized how suggestive it sounded and how she'd stupidly leaned closer to him.

"Another time." Eric stood, dismissing himself and thanking her dad and Lorraine for the dinner before leaving.

Maybe her odd Amity traits of curiosity were strong, just like Eric had mentioned, because she had certainly taken a long time studying the spot where he had been sitting next to her.

At eighteen and a half, Kate had passed initiation into Dauntless, placed in tenth. Over the weeks, and especially during her training, she hadn't seen Eric very much; only occasionally or during group talks. Apparently, something to do with Erudite had been taking up his time. Something she was sure her father knew as well.

She had strolled through the pit with her friends in tow, making idle but relieved talk over their recent passing. She was surprised by her name being called, looking up to see Eric breaking away from what must have been his friends – or at least acquaintances.

Stopping, Kate placed her hands linked in front of her, waiting until he stood towering over her; far more built than he had been in previous years and far more intimidating now that he was long settled. "Hi," she had said casually, the barest of smiles while watching his mouth form a ghost of a grin.

"Hi."

It had reminded of her when they first met, and strangely, she thought maybe that this was exactly what he was thinking too since it was a second too long in their greeting silence.

"How are you doing?" "I guess congratulations are in order." They had both spoken at the same time and Kate scoffed, peering down to the floor but Eric barely moved, unperturbed by her coyness.

"You are officially a member of Dauntless now, how does that make you feel?"

She wondered momentarily if this man ever became nervous or embarrassed before she answered, "Relieved it's over. But oddly I still feel the same. Nothing has really changed for me."

"What sector will you transfer to?"

Even though before he acted like he didn't care, she'd smiled at the thought that he remembered their conversation. "I'm going for Public Service. After much debate, of course."

"Is that so?"

Kate had looked around to the gathering of people becoming more frequent in the pit, then her green eyes met his again. "You really want to speak to me about work?"

"What do you want to speak to me about instead of work?" He was good at countering her questions with questions, a great avoidance technique but extremely annoying.

So, just for his disobedience to not play dangerously for once, she asks him something outrageous for the first time and something that had been bothering her. "Are you gay?"

His lips parted to an amazing smile as he broke into a soft chuckle. He shifted slightly on the spot, his composure loosening and then replied firmly, "I am certainly not."

"Then why…" She'd hesitated, then stepped closer and lowered her voice. "…My dad was married at eighteen the moment he became a Leader. I thought that's how things worked?"

"I guess I'm not in any rush, and traditions are not something that I abide by."

She was stupid to bring up such a conversation. Maybe she had offended him? "I'm sorry," she shook her head at herself. "That was rude."

"Hardly." The awkwardness was back with a vengeance. Eric peered to his right then motioned with a shrug of his shoulder, "I'll walk you home. I'm heading there anyway."

Had Eric walked with any other girl perhaps people would've stared, but they knew Mick was her father and Eric was his most trusted operative. But that was the first time they had ever appeared side by side in public or even bothered to acknowledge each other outside of her family's apartment.

Kate thought that perhaps he had been waiting for the time of when she passed to bother viewing her as human and social enough to talk to.

But as ever, it was always a guess.

"Lorraine is difficult." Eric broke her musings while they strolled. He kept his hands pocketed, a slowed pace that Kate was happy with. She needed to be able to relax after such horrific exercises that had made her question every moral, her own mind and fears. It felt like after such a long time of holding her breath, she was finally able to breathe freely. Her future was now far clearer than before.

"That's Lorraine for you." They walked further in silence until Kate gathered enough confidence to talk. When she had looked up to Eric, he was already studying the bruise from training on her cheek. "My dad doesn't love her, you know." Eric didn't speak, there was nothing he could say to that, so she crossed her arms as she continued, "He told me that the moment he saw my mom that he knew. He would never say that to anyone else." Kate suddenly realized her mistake. "Don't repeat that."

"I don't intend to."

"They would have rebuked his Leadership or made him factionless if he wanted to stay with my mother. He left and didn't know about me until months later. He was married to Lorraine at this point already and she uses it as some sort of leverage; like she's helping my dad out for keeping me around. I wouldn't be surprised if she even guilt tripped him to get what she wants even to this day."

"She seems the type."

Pausing as they reached the living compound, Kate had felt relieved by Eric and turned fully to face him, trying to portray how thankful she was from such little words. "I'm glad you see it too. Most people don't. They see her as some sort of idol; which she does play along with and it's stupid."

She heard Eric inhale sharply, and at first, his eyes were anywhere but connecting with hers until he said, "I see more than what is presented in front of me."

It was the first time he had made her blush. In fact, it was the first time any guy had made her blush. And even after spending six weeks in a unisex chamber and washroom, she was surprised she even blushed anymore at all.

It could have only been innocent, but she thought not. "You want to know another secret?" Kate rolled on her heel, biting her lip until he nodded and glanced at her feet with a lop-sided smirk. "My first impression of you, I told my dad I didn't like you."

"I don't want to burst your bubble, but he already told _me_ that."

"The secret is, is that I was wrong. It isn't true. I don't really know entirely what I think of you, but I know it's not all bad." She laughed lightly to herself. "And yes, I have heard things about your training preferences and strict _attitude_ towards work."

Eric pouted mockingly, "Well, thanks. At least I have one less person off my hit list. Consider yourself safe."

When they reached her family's apartment door, she'd laughed off the remains of the conversation, turning her key in the lock and motioning for him to go inside.

"I'm not coming in, Kate." Surprise was written on her face and he seemed amused at that. "I've got a meeting to go to. Call it, the epilog after new initiates."

"But you said-"

"Yeah," he interrupted her and gave her one last smile, rubbing a hand across the stubble on his chin to hide it as he turned, and she watched him walk away with a frown.

* * *

Staring at herself in the mirror in the bathroom the next morning, Kate still feels utterly confused. She had thought about Eric's strange behavior from the moment she had stepped into the apartment to the moment she had fallen asleep. She had not paid him any unusual amount of attention before but now she felt thwarted by how he had brushed her off the night before.

Banging on the door interrupts her internal struggle. "Kate, get out the bathroom!" It's one of the twins, Rose specifically by the sound of the voice that was only slightly different. Kate huffs, dabbing her face with the towel and opens the door to one of the girls leaning up against the door frame and the other with crossed arms. She ignores both of them and barges past.

Mick is already sitting at the table in the kitchen and glances up from the paper in his hand when Kate moves quickly to the fridge. "First day on the job, how is my girl feeling?"

Slumping back on the counter, Kate sips her juice, shrugging. "Happy."

"Don't sound too enthusiastic now."

"No, I really am. I won't see those two all day, that makes me happy." She finishes and comes to stand beside him.

He smiles for a long moment up at her. "I am proud of you. I know this couldn't have been easy for you. But I need to ask you something before you get swept up on Dauntless dreams and things…" he trails off and she studies his graying short beard and the fine lines around his eyes. "Please consider staying with us. I know in a week they'll offer you an apartment in another living sector and quite frankly I don't want my eldest leaving the nest just yet. It is optional, Kate."

Kate hadn't given it much thought but knew the time was coming. "Isn't leaving and starting on my own what everyone does? It's expected."

"When I look at you, I still see my little girl and that will never change. Moving out will eat up half your points you earn each month and at the very least staying here will help. You know I can sort you out later if you change my mind." Kate doesn't reply and he sighs to himself. "Give it some thought."

This was a subject that had been touch and go for years. Her dad had coddled her throughout her life, nurturing her to the best of his abilities. And that also went hand in hand with bullying that she'd had to deal with. That bullying wasn't just coming from her year younger siblings who seemed as if they would get away with murder- At a young age, she had learned to play safe and disconnect herself from them, keeping her distance. But it was the same for certain kids and situations she'd had to put up with in the past because of her father's protective nature. Accepting to stay at the family's apartment would almost be gratifying to some people in her class, like she had accepted the rumors of favoritism when she had worked herself so _damn_ hard to rid that image.

Lorraine struts in on their moment, killing the conversation completely. Kate and Mick knew Lorraine was a force to be reckoned with at the best of times, and from his silence, she knew this was something only her father wanted. Like always.

Kate was the last thing he had left of a woman he loved for a short amount of time but was obviously worth a lifetime. And Kate knew that, too.

"I don't know what time I'll be back." Kate glanced at Lorraine, went to her bedroom to collect her bag, and left with a simple goodbye.

* * *

The Public Sector has its own department and the six leaders of their faction took turns to overlook certain areas in selected months, especially this one, as it was demanding as it was stressful.

Kate took a deep breath and entered the small room that was alive with computers and people already buzzing in the morning mayhem. In the middle of the room was a white table, scattered with maps and other things they must use for logistics, and the low mumbling of voices completed the high-security feel in the air.

The pang of excitement was at the base of her gut already, but so was her nerves.

Her eyes land on a figure who was leaning over a colleague, a smile forming on her lips as he stood up and recognition flashed on his face. Now in a room full of people, Eric seemed massive, taking up a considerable amount of space and sucked in the air around him. He seemed amused at her presence.

"Welcome to the Public Sector."

She watches him check out her new uniform – which, in all reality, wasn't that much different than it was before. "Someone said to me once that policing comes under the public sector and they sounded highly doubtful I'd join because of it. So, here I am."

"You accepted the challenge."

"It was highly manipulative of you."

Eric shrugged. "I'm good at that."

"Figured." Kate smiles as he raises an eyebrow at her. He steps back to the desk he was hovering over before and returns with a sheet, presenting it to her.

"A week of supervised training, then you'll be placed on your own squadron."

She skims through the words on the paper, slightly more enthused. "We're going out today?"

"I'll be showing you sectors, factionless hotspots, and then this afternoon we'll be going through the logging side of things afterward. That's protocol, nothing too hard. The list of what we go through this week is on there so you can prepare yourself." Kate doesn't reply, still reading. "There is only five of you." The door opens up from behind her, and a person she'd seen in initiation nods to the both of them. "Gather at the table. We'll be starting when you are all here."

* * *

Eric loses his cool. He stands in the guard's face, hitting his gun to one side while Kate stares at one prominent vein bulging on his forehead in his anger. He pushes the trainee guard up against a crumbling wall by his jacket, pinning him. "We move as a group! Do you comprehend the damage you can inflict by not sticking to the procedure?" He gives him a shove, releasing him and addresses the group. "Rules are there for a reason. One more mistake and you're out of Public services, and I don't give second chances."

Kate's colleague, who she knew as Harvey, saw their exercise as nothing more than a chance to fool around, lagging behind, becoming too loud and obnoxious on a long stretch of crumpled street. He had disturbed the quiet that Eric had ordered.

"If this was a mission," Eric continues, "We would be compromised." He pushes Harvey up front. "You, take the lead."

Kate keeps her mouth shut, bracing her gun laxed but ready and moves forward.

"Keep it timely!" Eric instructs and the pace increases. He falls into step next to her, concentrating fixedly on his surroundings, sometimes watching Harvey advancing ahead. In a flash, he reaches out, yanks on Kate's arm, pulling her to him so close she smells Eric's cologne for the first time. "Watch it," he whispers under his breath.

Kate steps over the pothole in the street before they keep moving.

* * *

Mick enters to Eric's new office, shutting the door quickly behind him and regarding the young man placed behind his desk. "So?" It was hitting eight and Eric had finished with Kate's squadron an hour ago.

"Do you want the truth?" Eric starts, catching himself as Mick steps closer. For an older man, he was still formidable even through his calm and composed posture.

"All of it."

"She's useless," Eric states clearly without any particular expression on his face. "She's intelligent but not cut out for the role, or many others."

Mick clicks his tongue, huffing down into the seat in front of Eric and rubs his face. "You know that's not what I want to hear."

"You asked for the truth. You've made a mistake." Eric watches him carefully.

"She's my daughter, what do you expect? I've got a reputation to uphold."

"There's nothing I can do about that."

"Listen to me carefully, Eric. I placed that red carpet of Leadership out for you under one condition and I expect it to remain intact. Do you hear me?" Eric's hands ball into fists, his eyes cold as they stare at each other. "Make. Her. Better."

"She got through initiation, didn't she? I didn't come here to babysit. And, quite frankly, this is beginning to offend me. You know I'm capable of more than just this."

"It still stands. Give it a year or two and you'll be pledged higher than the other four Leaders. That I can promise you."

Eric's lip rises in disgust. "Another year or _two_?"

"When my day is done at Dauntless, you exceed me immediately," Mick speaks, but it's fretful. "My daughter-"

"Love makes you weak." Eric knows it's a low blow, sitting calmly as Mick scrapes his chair across the floor, standing and leaning across the desk to him.

"Don't test me, boy." Mick's tense shoulders begin to relax and a smile Eric had witnessed many times, verging more on the edge of condescending, begins to grace his face. "But I suppose that is why I chose you, after all. One thing you have got going for you is that you don't bullshit me."

Eric's eyes narrow slightly. "I aim to please."

"But lesson number… six," Mick laughs. "Always make assurances. Because trust me, one day you will fuck up, and assurances will be the only thing to get you through a bad patch."

"Noted."

"I can get you to places far quicker than anybody else can." Mick sits calmly back down into his seat while Eric smirks. "You just see to it that she solidifies herself here in Dauntless. To hell with the rumors."

"I can't guarantee that she won't fall for me on the way down though, Mick." Eric shrugs and holds his hands up in mock apology. Perhaps Eric can make his own assurances. He always liked an even playing field.

Mick squints at him in suspicion, and Eric bides his time. "Apparently, I gave off the impression to Kate that I'm a real prince charming," he explains after a moment and watches Mick roll his eyes.

"As long as she isn't looking at anybody else, then neither of us won't have blood on our hands. But that's a dangerous road, my friend." He points a finger at Eric in warning. "Need I even say-"

"All your secrets are safe with me." Eric hardly tries to suppress the joy in his voice. "I won't tell Kate a thing."

"Touch her though, Eric, and I _will_ kill you myself," Mick hisses to which the smirk on Eric's lips falter and he merely nods.

* * *

Thanks to Murmelinchen for sorting this out for me. You're the best.

I hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

With so many sectors, fifteen in all, a patrol was a standard three hours without interruption. Kate and her group took a slow pace, scanning, assessing, and familiarizing themselves with the routine. There weren't enough days in training to fit all the sectors in, but Eric had explained very carefully that once they had done a few, they had done them all, and that they would be more than likely participating in multiple policing missions in one day.

It was crucial that their presence was reinforced and a lot of their efforts were concentrated around Abnegation. Eric had told them that because Abnegation fed and clothed the factionless, crime rates were higher in those sectors; Abnegation brought the trouble on themselves by their own actions.

The small squadron Kate was on had yet to come across any real activity. And they certainly weren't anywhere near ready if they did.

But she found that a lot of the time she was watching Harvey. Today he was much calmer, fitting in with the group, probably having seen sense and taken Eric's words - and threat - to heart. Being scrapped from a position he had applied for was bad news for any other job in the future he wished to pursue. At least he was smart enough to remember that.

They walked in twos, five trainees, and Eric. After walking for almost two hours, a false sense of security was obvious in the way small idle talk was passed between them. Eric puts his hand up as they finally get to the boundary of Abnegation, signaling that it was time for a small break before their last hour, then they would head home.

They break away from each other and Kate pulls a small water flask off of her belt, drinking quickly. Though it is cloudy, the walking had caused a small sweat, her feet hot in her thick boots and a hell of an ache in her neck.

A shadow creeps up behind her slowly which she doesn't notice at first until Eric stands steadfast next to her, still completely alert of their surroundings when all she had done was concentrate on her thirst. Curiously, Kate's attention is drawn to Eric's fingers exposed out of his fingerless gloves that hover loosely over his gun at his chest, then to his squinted eyes gazing out ahead of him. It's almost like he had something to say, but he doesn't.

He glances at her only briefly, before calling over his shoulder, "Let's get going," to the group and signals with his head to move on.

* * *

Harvey becomes Kate's partner throughout the patrol in Abnegation. While she stays quiet, he rambles on about things; pointing out the Stiff's hair, how they dress, and how he could never imagine coping under Abnegation's selfless rules.

"Does that make me selfish?" Harvey asks as they trail through a back street, crisscrossing their way through the gray faction.

"What does?" Kate had barely paid any attention, trying to stay alert rather than fall into Harvey's gossip pit. But it was hard to ignore someone so persistent, and someone who would nudge hard with his elbow when he wanted a reply.

"You know, the thought of being in a selfless faction; thinking of others before myself. I don't think I could do it," he explains.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not in that faction." She feels bad being so blunt, sighing as she continues, "You don't have to worry about that. It's not even worth thinking about."

"But can you imagine…" She meets his wide brown eyes, noticing he was only slightly taller than her. "...if you got Abnegation or a faction you didn't want in your aptitude, and having to _join_ them."

"It's genetics and other biological nonsense, Harvey. It's way past us now."

He kicks a rock as they walk. "But it's reality for some." Kate doesn't reply, noticing Eric in front of them stop to talk to an older man from Abnegation. "Then you have two years like, thinking about it, preparing yourself mentally. Then we have choosing day..."

Kate side-eyes him, then pushes past the group to get within hearing distance.

"...this team is finished and on training. It will be another squadron you'll have to address your concerns to," she catches the end of their conversation and Eric looks at her for the briefest of moments.

Her presence seems to distract the Abnegation man and he nods gracefully. "Thank you. And I will." He smiles at her, and Eric doesn't extend any other formal or polite acknowledgment while stepping past.

Eric leads them along the main street built up with houses of the same consistency either side. That consistency being cubic buildings with matching pathways to the street and completely identical; not an ounce of personality from one to the other. It didn't help with their already weird image which gave Abnegation an old and lost feel to it as they strolled through. It makes Kate briefly think of what Harvey was explaining earlier, and a shiver runs up her spine - it appeared as though time had stood still for this faction.

Groups of people gather together in conversation to the side of houses, children crossing the paths in front of them, karts of what Kate presumed was food, pushed and served evenly through their community. They were nothing like Dauntless at all. Though structured, Dauntless were bold and the people made their own way and decisions, selfishly using points for meals and living quarters and on other greedy items they didn't practically need. It makes her wonder and she addresses Eric when she asks, "How does their society work?"

Her voice breaks his concentration and he looks down to her, eyeing her for a moment until he replies with a shrug, "They are communists. Absent of social classes, common ownership in means of production. Everyone is equal and shit."

"So how do they ever find the urge to, I don't know… advance? Personal growth? Satisfaction in life?"

"A safe society, they believe, is one where everything is interconnected. The safety of fairness is how they find their satisfaction. Putting others before themselves they see as personal growth and exemplary. Need I say more?"

Kate smiles to herself from the formal way he speaks, it's almost rehearsed and he had a great way of sounding bored and unquestionable. "Are you satisfied?" Eric frowns at her. "...With your job? Personal life?" She hadn't particularly meant to ask that, and her outspokenness was beginning to become a nuisance habit.

"Is that something you should be asking me?"

"It's a simple question. You don't seem very happy most of the time."

"Keep your assumptions to yourself," he pauses, his face loosening and he shakes his head. "And I am as _happy_ as I can be."

"Well, that makes two of us. I am as happy as I can be, too," Kate tells him as he slows in pace. "But I won't be satisfied until I have finished this week and had a while in my job; to get a feel for everything. It's all still unknown to me at the moment." She grimaces out in front of her in thought, sensing him still watching her. "Did my dad say anything to you about me not moving out?"

"He is trying to protect you," Eric says candidly and it annoys Kate.

"From what?"

"Do you want me to be conventional, or state the obvious?" He glances behind him to the group, then around him.

"Well, he is never going to be completely honest with me."

"You're his responsibility, he's trying to do what's best. Then we have…" He looks her up and down. "You, being a Leader's daughter with a promising future. You're young, naive…" He trails off.

" _Yeah_?"

She swears she sees a slight lift in his lip, but other than that he remains passive. "You're not bad on the eyes. Decent."

Kate scoffs between the soft sound of their gear clattering as they walked. "Decent?"

"Pretty." Though it was flattering, the word seems to roll off of his tongue with distaste. "Any man can see that. But it's the acting upon it that your dad is trying to prevent and it seems so far that he is successful. Giving credit where credit is due, of course."

"This is the problem, he _can't_ stop me from meeting guys and other stuff. I have to do that for myself. He was young when he met my mom, probably not much older than I am now."

"And look what happened," Eric mocks, falsely grinning at her and appearing done with this conversation. She see's his point, but she still feels slightly insulted. Kate looks to her boots, thinking over her parents meeting for probably the hundredth time. She had almost romanticized it into a fairy tale, and to dampen such a childhood memory was almost like feeling disappointed and stupid all at once.

Eric doesn't say anything more, perhaps he knew the graveness of his words. He only picks up the pace, leaving her to fall back into line, and leads them back to Dauntless.

* * *

After an uneventful afternoon learning how to log in the information of their activity throughout the day, Kate jogs with her friend Laura, taking roads outside of Dauntless but still within a safe perimeter of the compound. It was the usual route they'd been shown as initiates and they would pass groups of people partaking in the same activity every so often.

The two young women had known each other since their education lessons as they grew up, but only really became friends when placed together in initiation. Most of the people Kate had relationships with were more like acquaintances, but for once, she had a best friend off of her own back, and someone who wasn't interested in her family's position.

"You're quiet today," Laura pants through their timed running.

"I've got a lot on my mind. I told you about my dad trying to get me to stay with them, didn't I? In some ways I want to because I know he will be happy if I do. But in others, I don't know if I could stand Lorraine and the twins much longer. It also gives people something to gossip about."

"Maybe for a while, but they don't understand your situation."

"I don't understand my situation," Kate rebukes a little harshly, coming to a stop and bending down to catch her breath.

Laura stretches with her hands cupped behind her head, breathing deeply. "I get it-"

"Do you?" Kate's head whips up. "Because at the moment I'm _apparently_ a full member, but I'm limited. I feel like a child; an unwanted nuisance. And I always will in that household."

"You're not unwanted, otherwise your dad would've karted you to the housing place and demanded your living arrangements the same day."

"He wants me to stay with him because he feels guilty. I spoke to Eric-"

Laura laughs lightly. "Oh, really? You speak a lot with Eric lately?" Her tone is suggestive and Kate snorts, turning away from her.

"We talk a bit, of course. I've known him for years."

"And he's the same Leader who just so happens to be taking your week course in Public Services. Who spends dinner every night with your family. Who has _flirted_ with you-"

"He doesn't flirt with me," Kate interjects.

"Bullshit. You told me about the time he walked you home but didn't need to, and then safely saw you inside before leaving to do some 'work'." Laura seems exasperated, her hands flying up with a shrug. "I mean, hello, it's Eric."

"He's a pawn of my dad," Kate brushes her off with a wave of her hand.

"But you have to admit he's handsome," Laura points out to which Kate scoffs, sitting down on the edge of the curb. "Admit it," Laura continues.

"He's alright."

"Alright?" Laura lands next to her, nudging her friend with a laugh. "Just alright?"

"He said I was pretty today." Kate blushes with a smile and Laura shifts closer. "He said any man can see it."

"That's straight out flattery. He likes you. I've said this from the beginning. He didn't have to say that, at all."

"I'm just... a little girl in his eyes. He _has_ to be nice to me, there is a difference. My dad is his boss." Kate picks at the curb, suddenly standing and tilting her head back towards Dauntless. "And speaking of which, if I don't get back, I'm sure there will be a search party looking for me."

"One that includes Eric," Laura calls, wriggling her eyebrows and laughs as Kate takes off quickly in a sprint to ignore her.

* * *

Kate enters the apartment to low rumbling voices that stop as she steps through the archway that parts the open kitchen from the hall. Her dad's familiar eyes soften when he realizes it's her. "My girl finally joins us…" Eric has his back to her, only turning his head over his shoulder, glancing before idling back to Mick.

"Hey." She tries her best to act normal and not take much notice of the young leader her and Laura were gossiping about not that long ago. She wondered whether it was true what they say and perhaps Eric's ears had been burning.

"Where you been?" Mick speaks with his usual rapid-fire irritating interrogation voice. It's only ever slightly more clipped than usual so she knew he was serious, but he also kept it falsely kind, like they would do in small one to one sessions at the beginning of an investigation.

"Went for a run. You always say I should exercise more."

Mick smiles at that. "Who with?"

Kate steps up next to the table, letting her fingers brush across the top. "Oh, you know, five of these really big bodybuilding guys that are way too old for me..." She rolls her eyes, exhaling exaggeratedly.

"That means Laura," Eric speaks up, making Kate look at him and he appears smug, lifting an eyebrow at her. She notices the small whiskey filled glasses on the table, where Eric's hand lingers on the base of one of them.

"You trying to cause trouble, Kate? She is, isn't she?" Mick laughs with a wink and Eric keeps the grin on his face, his eyes holding hers. "Eric tells me it's been another fine day on your patrols. I'm glad to hear it, darling." Mick leans back in his seat, letting his arm hang loosely over the spare chair beside him.

Kate breathes deeply, swallowing and forcing a pleasant smile at her father. "We're learning a lot about the other factions. It's…" She hesitates for a second, realizing that she's the center of attention and her confidence dwindles. But it also doesn't help she's still mentally distracted and still half contemplating Laura saying Eric liked her. "...interesting."

"Good, good." Mick nods.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a shower."

"We've got some stuff to do, darling, so you might miss us. I'll see you in the morning in case." He grasps her hand and squeezes, then leans back onto the table. "So, I spoke to them at Erudite. It's been a while…"

Kate switches off, heading to her bedroom and knowing Eric could see her the entire way down the hallway. The hallway was long and wide and all the rooms petered off from it, her room being at the end, opposite the bathroom.

Throwing her phone on the bed, she takes off her gym shoes, placing them by the door and heading to the mirror. She looked sticky, her face shiny, also a little tired from working and then pushing herself physically. At the moment her body was in good shape and she wanted to try and keep it that way. Though, she ate what she wanted regardless.

While locking herself away to the confines of the bathroom and taking a rather long and warm shower, she tries to tell her mind it was time to switch off; to stop thinking of things she didn't know the answers to just yet. It was practically impossible.

She shaves her legs, washes her hair, feeling satisfied and fresh again, though her mind was muddy. Whatever decision she made would affect her. But could she really disappoint her father? The one person who believed in her, who loved her?

Towel drying her hair in front of the mirror, she wraps a spare around her body, then dumps her old clothes in the wash bin. She hums as she unlocks the door, letting steam into the hallway as she opens it. She instinctively looks to her right, to the place where the end of the dining table could still be seen, and she is surprised to find Eric still sitting in the place he was before.

She pauses, holding the towel tightly and watching him sit back in the chair with a hand on the table drumming as he seems to be waiting for her father. His face is solemn but appearing in deep concentration over something, and for some reason, she felt a warped sense of sympathy for him.

He notices her suddenly, the drumming ceasing as he slowly sits up, readjusting in his seat.

It was like a spring uncoiling in her stomach. A slow, slippery, warm sensation brushing her skin for the first time as he looked at her. But this time it was different. He was seeing her, and not the appointed image from over the years.

Just when their eyes meet, a door opens in the middle of the hallway and Lorraine steps out too quickly for her to dart into her room. She smiles weakly at Lorraine, dropping her eyes to the floor and entering her bedroom without a word.

Lorraine peers down the hallway to Eric but he's already turned away. A smirk begins to form on her face instead of the assessing frown she once adorned. Casually she strolls in her highest heels towards the dining table and pulls out a chair opposite Eric, placing herself neatly into it. "Where's my husband?"

Lorraine sees the shift in Eric's eyes from reserved to skeptical before he answers, "He had to make a call."

"So, he just left you here? He trusts you very much, doesn't he." Eric looks from her heavy makeup to the long nails on her hands, resisting the urge to grimace openly while she talks. "Look, sweetie. Mick tells me everything. All those little talks you have… All your little adventures with Jeanine." She smiles at him before continuing on in the too pleasant tone, edging on condescending, "Then we have Kate, don't we? What a little problem we've got ourselves in."

Eric doesn't say a word.

"She's got an adorable soft spot for you. I've seen it." She leans further on the table until her breasts are presented to him, and she lowers her voice. "But Mick warned you, didn't he? Touch his baby girl and you have one hell of a rainstorm down on your little career life."

"What makes you think I want to touch her?" Eric hisses through his teeth. It was taking a lot of effort to remain passive in front of this annoyingly sounding woman and the clanking of her earrings.

"You got that look, like Kate's father did after he found out what's her face had died; knowing you shouldn't but you want to. I mean…" She taps her long nails on the table, glancing at them for a second. "What's so special about this girl? I have spent eighteen years with her and she sure as hell ain't one of mine. It's in her blood, couldn't help her."

"Maybe she's special because she knows when to keep her mouth shut."

Lorraine smiles all teeth. "There we go. There he is. I've been waiting."

Eric juts his chin out, looking past her down the hall then sternly back to her. Of all people, he was not about to back away from the likes of Lorraine. "Wherever you are going with this, or whatever is happening here, forget it. Don't bother."

"Look, I'll get straight to the point. Kate's a big no-no." She chuckles suddenly. "Though, it is strange to be saying this to you after such a long time. I never saw it coming…" she trails of purposefully, still appearing pretty smug with herself. "So… I have a proposition that might interest you. You know all the lardy-da expectations of idolism and a structured community that is futile in an extreme society like Dauntless..." Eric's frown only grows deeper, the annoyance swelling in his gut, and the urge to throw her halfway across the room was overbearing. "For example we got Mick married at eighteen. How old are you now?"

Eric stares blankly, not answering.

"Ah, I remember now, twenty-one in two weeks. Which is perfect really because I have two beautiful daughters about to go through initiation in the coming months. Mick and I would be absolutely all for it if you chose one of our girls. And your rep will be squeaky. Whatcha think?"

Lorraine looks so hopeful, he can't help himself. He breathes deeply in, leaning towards her and returns her smile. "What do they plan on doing after initiation?"

"Rose wants to do hairdressing and I think Regina wants to work in the canteen, cooking or baking or something…" Lorraine rubs her lips together, smudging her bright red lipstick.

"Right…" He nods his head, keeping the smirk on his face. "It's almost insulting that you expect me to be taken by their lack of ambition, that I must be so desperate to agree with something like this, that I'm gullible. You may be Mick's wife, Lorraine. You may have been the daughter of an old leader yourself, but I don't take orders from you."

"But…" Lorraine hesitates, pouting as she does so. "You might want to start considering it. It's expected of you and needed to keep your position. Did Mick ever tell you that? Think that's why he married me so young, he was serious about his career and what other people thought. I suppose some people don't think like he does..." she insinuates him with a quick glance.

"Your marriage was a sentence of convenience," he states coldly.

"My _sentence_ was learning to become a mother of a child I couldn't love and knowing every single day this child represented something Mick strayed for."

Eric scoffs to himself. "So you'd be willing to let one of your precious girls get involved in a loveless set-up?"

"I'm just presenting an easy option between all the other aspiring Dauntless girls you're considering."

"I'm not considering anybody," he almost growls, trying disastrously to keep his cool.

"At the end of the day, you got a job to do. And we all know that's a lie."

"What's a lie?" Mick demands, slamming the front door shut. Pushing his phone back in his pocket, he runs a hand across the top of his graying hair, looking strained from whatever conversation he was just having.

Lorraine smiles up at him. "We were just having an interesting chat," she tilts her head at Eric, him daring her to speak further. "He's been thinking about his duties, what girls he has been considering."

"Oh damn, that old band wagon. When I was a lad I actually enjoyed that part - until Lorraine strutted her stuff past me in the canteen one day of course, and the rest was history. Who we got on your list? I can help, you know. I have a heavy and incredibly persuasive hand in this business." He halts Eric when he tries to speak. "Discreet, too."

Mick was anything other than discreet.

"I haven't -" Eric begins and Kate appears from the hall, dressed in loose clothing and this time doesn't meet his eyes. Though he watches her as she casually passes, heading for the kitchen.

Lorraine looks over her shoulder and back. "One of our girls, one of the twins," she states in the advantage of his falter.

Mick takes a seat next to Eric and clouts him on the back. "You been keeping this from me, boy?"

"Lorraine suggested-"

"We'll discuss this on the walk to security. But I'm delighted, I really am. I might not look it right now but this is just a passive form of work mode, and because we only got five minutes and Max and Harry are waiting for us..." Mick tips his head to his wife, "sweetheart."

Eric can't register anything other than anger as he stands up. Automatically he catches Kate's curious face in the darkness of the kitchen while she sips on a juice, propped back against the counter. He starts walking towards the door with Mick, getting a better view of the casual sweater she'd thrown on and the high bun of washed, messy hair on her head. And then, silently he curses himself as he almost bumps into Mick who had paused to hold the door open for him.

* * *

Kate had used the same locker that had been provided to her on the first day for the last three days that she'd been on the introduction course. It wasn't a permanent one because eventually there would be placements among Amity or on the wall and someone else would need to use it. But for now, it was hers, and it was the place she kept the picture of her mother while she was out for the day.

Touching her mother's smiling face briefly before she slams the metal locker door shut, she is the first one dressed. She jumps in fright when she notices Eric standing right behind her, feeling the prickling of embarrassment at being caught doing something so personal.

"When ready, arm yourself and go wait outside."

Kate doesn't say anything, walking straight past him to the rack of standard rifles by the door. Picking one up, she checks the clip before putting the support strap over her head. In her peripheral she can see Eric strolling over towards the door as he waits, coming up beside her again.

"What's happened, Kate?" he whispers as if the act alone was against protocol.

She looks at him as if he was stupid. "Nothing."

"You're the very last person I would expect to be in a bad mood."

"I'm good at disappointing people, Eric," she mumbles gravely as she remembers hearing Lorraine outside the twins room that was next to hers, giving a brief insight into the conversation she had with Eric. The twins reactions were mild acts of exaggerated inward screaming and hyperventilating. And Kate knew for a fact Lorraine had spoken far louder than necessary so she could overhear them.

She had placed Eric highly on a pedestal in her mind; she respected him and thought he knew better than to play ball with Lorraine over such things. The image was now somewhat marred, and altogether disheartening.

"Hey…" He grabs her arm as she tries to pass, her breathing coming out raggedly and she all but stares at his hand rather than up at him. "You're doing well on this course, you're not disappointing-"

"I'm fine." Right now, she didn't need a psych analysis or pep talk, and luckily her outburst stops whatever advice he was going to serve.

Eric narrows his eyes at her, twisting a piece of the strap over so it laid flat on her shoulder. "Okay. I can work with that." He exaggeratedly holds a hand out to the door, watching her storm through it.

* * *

Kate can barely breathe. It doesn't help that her uniform feels heavy, the gun swinging precariously on her back as she climbs. She's almost to the top, her arms aching and around her she could see the roofs of other buildings, some even below her now.

They scale an old fire escape, a rusted, was once black ladder of an abandoned building. The rain is pouring down, making it almost impossible to look up and the bars slippery, taking her breath away every time her boots squeak on the tread. Below her, she spots the other female trainee clinging on and talking to herself. Kate doesn't want to have that image imprinted onto her if anyone saw, so she pushes herself to carry on - though, in fact, she wanted to join her.

Between the crumbled but highly built up area around Candor, Eric shows them tactical movements, strategies they would use, and utilizing the help from their surroundings. This is nothing like they have done so far. Eric has taken their training to a whole new level and she wonders if it is because of her attitude earlier.

Either way, Kate would be happy to never have to climb another ladder in her lifetime.

Her hand reaches the top, the taste of safety causing her to move faster, slinging herself over the small wall and to the graveled rooftop. Catching her breath, she wipes the water out of her eyes and face, getting to her feet on unsteady legs.

Eric's standing, waiting with an impatient look on his face. "Glad you could join us," he snaps over the constant downpour of rain and Harvey grins next to him, looking absolutely pleased with himself.

She waits for the girl that was below her, helping her over the wall. The girl's hands tremble and feel cold, her face is pale as if she was going to hurl. "Not too good with heights?" she asks and the girl shakes her head. "I'm not a fan either." The two guys that make up the rest of their group gracefully pull themselves up without a word, watching Eric expectantly.

Kate fears the worst when Eric smiles. "If we are in pursuit, we need to conquer every obstacle without hesitation. Be that on the ground, or above," Eric states over the rain, running a hand over his face as if it would somehow help. He turns suddenly, walking directly to a ledge and steps up. With his tall frame, he makes his grounded jump look effortless as he disappears from sight.

The group all jog to the ledge and look over to him flicking his wrist from a neighboring building for the next person to follow, and that's Harvey. It's a good six feet across and five feet lower than the building they were currently on and Kate whispers under her breath, "You've got to be kidding me." The last thing she was expecting was Eric trying to intentionally kill one of them.

Harvey tries to copy Eric and fails, hitting the intended building and just getting his arm over it, clambering himself up the side while only the others gasp. The next guy to tribute himself lands on the ledge and his knees buckle.

Even though Kate fears the obvious fact of falling to her death, she still doesn't want to be the last. She backs up, puts all her energy into the run-up, and propels with all her strength off the side, landing with a thud on the adjacent roof with a painful groan. The gravel digs into her palms and she's sure she has a hole in the knee of her pants, but she looks back to the higher building with triumphant.

"Good." Eric nods once they are all over what probably was a simple task to him, and turns his back on them. "To get down, we take the stairs."

* * *

"...in the fear stage, it wasn't just the bugs, it was like slimy things I've never seen before. So I put two and two together and it must have been an experience I had as a child with a slug…" Kate walks in last to the locker room, overhearing Harvey's run down to one of the fellow trainees. He catches Kate as she passes, "Kate! What did you get in your fears?"

Kate scrunches up her nose, shaking her head. "That's stuff you shouldn't share with other people." She rubs her neck after opening her locker, ignoring Harvey taking off his shirt and putting on a spare beside her.

Her clothes are soaked through and she could think of nothing better than slumming it in her pajamas later; jogging was not on the menu, she decided. On that thought she pulls out her stashed phone, bringing up her messages and texts Laura.

The slamming of Harvey's locker makes her almost drop the phone and she frowns at him as he says his goodbyes, skimming past Eric in the doorway. Eric didn't fare any better than the rest of them, his usually gelled hair sat flat against his head and he'd already thrown off his jacket somewhere, showing the damp patches on his black shirt across his shoulders and back.

The other female trainee shivers, pulling on her pants and clumsily steps into her boots. It gives Kate the fleeting feeling of initiation, their shared dorm, and bathroom. It was way too late for her to start becoming shy over her body in situations like this, but it doesn't mean she wished that she'd rushed like the others and got here first to change. Because when the last trainee leaves, it's just her Eric left.

He's sitting on the wooden bench between them, but she doesn't turn around, trying to contain her modesty as she strips off the sopping, heavy jacket and unbuttons her pants. The material sticks to her legs and they are halfway to her feet when she hears Eric's voice from behind her.

"I know why you are annoyed and I know for a fact Lorraine can't keep her gob shut."

Kate steps out of her pants and folds them slowly while mulling over his words, the picture of her mother just grabbing her eye. "It's none of my business."

She peers over her shoulder but he's not looking. She's only greeted by an intricate tattoo mainly to one side of his back which she's never seen before.

"Nah," he says breezily, "it's no one's business. But it doesn't mean people don't want to get in on it."

Kate frowns to herself, lifting up the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head, covering her chest with it even though she was still facing towards the locker. "Well, not me." Her reply is snarky and he snorts to himself. He had guts if he thought for a second she was bothered by what or who he _does,_ even if that possibly meant one of her pathetic half-sisters. "Which one you got your eye on? I'm going to go with a hairdresser for that do of yours. Or maybe the cook, she would keep you well fed," she scoffs, unclipping her bra to put it inside the locker and fetches her spare shirt.

"I thought you said you didn't want in on my business?"

"I don't," she snaps quickly. "But you were the one who told me you didn't abide by traditions or some other … thing." In her annoyance, she glances over at him and pauses. His mouth is fractionally open, his eyes having already strayed from her face, down her bare side to the curvature of her hip. She swallows, quickly turning away and pulling the clean shirt over her head. "And... do you mind…"

"You're not disappointing, Kate."

Confused with his behavior and the way he never seemed to be bothered by anything irks her. "Go tell Lorraine… Maybe… maybe you can sort it out between the two of you-" She jumps when the locker door slams shut in front of her; she hadn't even heard Eric move.

"Is that what you think?" he mumbles as Kate backs up into the lockers behind her, the cold steel brushing against the back of her legs. "You'll see," he says with a condescending grin, yanking the door open and grabbing her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"How do you unlock this?" he demands, his face is set, not bothering to acknowledge her defiant scowl.

Kate crosses her arms. "All sevens," she huffs and watches as he cycles through her phone, before joyfully handing it back.

"We'll talk later." Eric leaves her there, grabbing his clean shirt off the bench and storming out of the room.

If he wanted her number, all he had to do was ask.

* * *

Mick isn't particularly happy at the dinner table. He's barely said a word and him and Lorraine glare at each other from time to time. To top it all off, Eric hasn't joined them tonight. In a way she's grateful, not having to stomach sitting across from him after her stupid outburst earlier. But on the other hand, she's curious. And more than one time tonight she had found herself daydreaming over the meaning of his tattoos that she never had the chance of seeing until now.

With this weird feeling in the air, her appetite dwindles. In fact, she isn't that hungry anymore. Lorraine's the first to stand up haughtily and Kate is thankful it's finally over. It wasn't like dinner was obligatory but her father insisted for all of them to have dinner together; something to do with keeping the family close. So if she wanted out of it, she always had to have a good reason. It seemed Eric now was a part of that deal.

"Dad?" Kate whispers across to him, glancing to the idle seat next to him. "Where's-"

He shakes his head. "You don't want to know." He still appears as though he wants to say something, though she watches him calculating whether the twins would hear between their bickering or whether Lorraine was listening. He sits up further, twisting his wedding ring on his finger. "Eric's refused…" He motions towards the twins. "Lorraine isn't too pleased. Thought it was best he didn't show his face tonight, though, he'll have hell tomorrow. I think she was expecting him."

"You can't force people into something they don't want to do."

"Yeah, darling, but sometimes it's out of love we oblige these things. He's my boy. I treat him as such to an extent. Would've been good for him. Now he'll have others to go through, like Harry's girl, what's her face, Joslin... Johanna..."

"Close," Kate scoffs. "Jolene." They both pause as the twins get up, paying them no attention at all.

Suddenly she feels her father's hands on hers, the strength of them, though aged, still evident as he squeezes. "You're my girl, you know that."

"You tell me most days."

"I only ever try and do what's best." His words are heartfelt, but Kate can't help but feel thwarted because she was never seen as equal to the twins. "You thought more on…" he trails off while watching a resting-bitch-faced Lorraine toddle off to the bedroom. "...what we said before?"

"I don't know. I don't think staying here is a good idea. I need to go out and find myself, like everybody does."

"I think you know who you are. And you know what you mean to me."

"Is that why I should stay, though?" Kate asks sincerely, trying to stop her voice from breaking. She was never good with moments like this. "Why..." Her mouth suddenly runs dry at what she was about to ask. "Why would you not consider opting me, like the twins, to someone like Eric?"

Instantly his hands let go and he leans back in his seat, looking down at her with his eyes wide. "Is that a serious question? Is... have you... you and Eric got something going on I don't know about?"

"No," Kate shakes her head, beginning to frown in confusion. "I just want to know why. You seem fine with Rose or Regina-"

"It's different, darl'. It's different."

"How?" Kate demands. "What if I _want_ to start dating? Doing the things all the other girls are doing."

"Because, that ain't you."

"That isn't a good enough reason," Kate speaks with a sense of urgency, hoping to get something from the old man. "All I have ever done is follow and do as you say. I need to do something for myself. I can't keep being left in neutral all the damn time. Have I not proved that there is a brain on my shoulders? Have I not passed initiation to prove myself at Dauntless? Let me be Dauntless, dad."

The whole while Mick shakes his head, and on her last words, his fist hits the table. "I _can't_!" His mouth drops open in mortification at his outburst, scratching his short beard in agitation. "I can't because you are all I have left." He trails off and sighs before standing. "I know I can't keep you here forever, but I'm not ready to lose you just yet."

"You're not losing me-"

"So you're staying," he cuts her off and grins despite his anger. "We can talk about this when things are more settled. When you're thinking clearer, sweetpea. Right now, I know you got a lot going on, I've been there myself, and this is when we make irrational decisions." But now it seems like he's talking to himself, like he was comforting his own messy thoughts and all she can do is stare up at him from the table.

With a sigh he moves round to her side, kissing her head for a long moment. "Goodnight, darl'." And then he's gone, his bedroom door clicking softly behind him and she hears an onslaught of Lorraine's muffled, grating voice through the wall.

Kate slides back her chair calmly, huffing to herself as she passes through the hallway to her bedroom. She drops on the bed, pulling her pillow under her chin and reaches instinctively for her phone. Her eyes widen, reading one received message.

 _"_ _I bet dinner was hell."_

* * *

A/N:

Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoy. :) And big kisses for my Beta.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

Hello! This was supposed to be updated yesterday but had a conniption.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

For the third time, Kate hits the ground. Harvey's knee is somewhere between her shoulderblades and her left arm forced behind her back. "Alright, alright, alright!" she grunts and Harvey gets up.

"Good," Eric praises him as Kate pushes herself up from the ground, dusting out the dirt from the street. There was no mats or the safety of the gym room, it was a wide track not far from Dauntless and Eric had decided this was the perfect place to learn better ways to restrain potential opponents.

And it was safe to say Kate was failing miserably. She's angry when she stands up, more with herself than anything, and swipes at her water bottle that's to one side of the group. With a hand on her hip, she curses herself, an overwhelming tiredness mixed with the unpleasant feeling of self-loathing.

"Whatever is affecting your lessons today, you need to sort it out." Kate had heard Eric coming up from behind her from the sound of his boots on the turf but doesn't bother facing him. "I never put you down for someone so easily defeated. Maybe I was wrong. And your grapple is quite possibly the most pathetic thing I've ever seen."

"Okay, I get it!" Kate suddenly snaps. "I suck, I know. ...There's just a lot on my mind."

"Stupid. When at work, your _mind_ is here, not elsewhere. Now go and take Harvey _down_." She glances at Eric in disbelief, him only frowning at an electronic pad in his hands with a finger swiping across the display. His nonchalance was more annoying than his words. "Harvey, again, with Kate," he orders, this time briefly lifting his head as Harvey prepares himself in front of her. Eric pops a brow with impatience. "Go…"

Kate's face is red with embarrassment, and as Harvey apologizes, pivoting forward to restrain her, she knocks his arm out, their bodies off balance. It's somewhat flukey that she manages to get behind him as he falls, almost scruffily as they scrabble on the dirt street. But regardless, she lifts his arm, pushing him down to complete the assigned move.

She gives Harvey a shove and walks off to cool her mind. Eric grins to himself over the rim of the pad.

* * *

After an agonizing afternoon where Kate had managed to freeze the device she was listing her debrief to, she was more than grateful the day was over with. The group filters out of the locker room, Kate just shutting and locking hers when Eric appears in the doorway. He's got a piece of paper in his hand, glancing at her as she all but sighs. "Kate, can you wait here for a minute."

She readjusts the strap of her bag across her shoulder and patiently waits until they are alone. "I'm not going to commend you, today was bad," Eric continues. "You want to tell me why I shouldn't hand this report over to Mick?"

"Please, don't…" The words come out rushed and only the slightest flicker in his eyes prove he is a little interested. She moves back to the wooden bench and slumps down. "I don't need him interfering more than he already does." She swipes at a piece of her hair in front of her face, her shoulders sagging. "I'm just tired."

"That's not an excuse," he mumbles, narrowing his eyes at her.

"No, I know." She thinks long and hard for a moment. Blinking up to him strolling into the room, she continues as he comes to a stop in front of her, "I spoke with my dad last night. It didn't really sway in my favor."

"About?"

Her eyes snap to his as she recalls their conversation and somewhat skeptical of his interest. "Well, first of all, why you didn't turn up..." Eric nods his head a little, stepping closer as her voice had dropped purposefully so no one could overhear with the locker room door still slightly ajar. "Then the living arrangements. It didn't go down well."

"I could have told you that."

Kate places her palms flat on her thighs, gripping them. "It sounds stupid said out loud. Stupid, childish problems and reasons..."

"They can't be brought to work with you. If suspicion arises on a trainee's mental compatibility, they have to be dealt with quickly before general productivity is endangered."

"It's not that, Eric," she almost groans at his animosity. But she should've expected not an ounce of empathy from him. "Can't people just have an off-day?" His face falls into thought and she gathers she particularly doesn't want him to reply to that. "Nevermind. Can I go now?"

"Yes." But he doesn't move as she approaches, standing straighter. "Kate, it's protocol that I have to ask. That wasn't me just being a jackass."

Just before leaving the room, she turns to him. She wanted to say that he was a brave man, and how she admired him for it; that she was glad he didn't submit to Lorraine, and that she was impressed he's not afraid to voice his opinions so freely to Mick. But, avoiding his gaze, all that comes out is: "Are you coming to dinner later?"

"Do you want me to?"

She smiles for the first time that day, and he watches her leave.

* * *

Kate can tell Eric is in their apartment from the amount of mumbling voices from outside of her room; more specifically Lorraine, and she could almost imagine the terrible onslaught happening right now.

Since having a shower, she had gone back to her room and dozed on top of her bed, drifting in and out while waiting for dinner. The twins weren't here and apparently, Lorraine was going to leave at some point to meet them and have a drink with one of her friends that lived in another living complex. Kate thought she'd only decided to have the night out to show her dissatisfaction with Eric, and probably for the fact he gotten away with it.

But that was what Kate was waiting for. Once Lorraine was gone, only then would she bother leaving her room.

After a few more minutes, her step-mother's voice is no longer audible and Kate has no idea how long she had been lying on her bed in her loose sweats, almost starfished. Rolling up with a groan, she stumbles with a rushing head to the door, pushing back her stray hair into the bun quickly.

She slides her hands inside her overly large sweatshirt cuffs and walks down the hall, approaching the table. As much as she wanted to moan about Mick and his attitude towards her personal life, he was definitely meant to be a father and husband. He's placing two serving dishes on the table with his back to her. He doesn't notice her until she pulls out her usual seat, reminding herself not to pay any huge amount of attention to Eric as she does so.

"Ah…" Mick smirks at her. "She smells the food and she rises."

"I wasn't asleep."

"Whatever, darl'. Get some food in you. Help yourself, Eric." It's some sauce covered chicken and rice meal that does indeed look delicious. Once served and happily shoveling the first few mouthfuls, Mick hums in satisfaction. "If anything, that woman can cook."

Kate wonders if Lorraine poisoned it, and peering up to Eric who seems to be simpering to himself, she wonders if he thinks the same.

"Beats the food in the canteen," Eric speaks up.

"Why? Is that where you ate last night?" Mick asks, pausing to take a sip of his usual whiskey poured into his favorite set of glasses. She notices Eric has one too, but none for her.

"Sure as hell wasn't going to be eating here," Eric scoffs.

"Yeah, Lorraine ate my ass last night because of you." Mick laughs loudly and suddenly, making Kate jump. "Not in the good way, either!"

"That's disturbing," she mumbles.

"Speaking of eating ass. Eric-"

"Well, this doesn't sound good," Eric breathes and Kate snorts.

"You got any news for me? Any news on Harry's girl, Jennifer?"

"Jolene, dad." She smiles at his mistake, catching Eric eyeing her.

Politely, Eric puts down his cutlery, scooping up his glass and spins the alcohol inside. "Like I said, I'm not interested in that at the moment."

"You're not gay, are you?" her father asks bluntly with a straight face, causing her to almost choke on a forkful of rice.

Eric drops his eyes to the table. "You sound exactly like Kate."

"Not that that is a problem or anything. I guess, I just want to know whether you got a crush on me that stops you seeing past to all the ladies." Mick nudges her hard in her ribs.

"No, I know what I want. And that's not it."

"Mmmm…" Her father growls exaggeratedly. "Eyes set on the prize."

"Something like that." Eric sips his drink.

Kate can't help but frown at him, wondering what was going through his mind and why he was being so utterly brazen. Suddenly a boot hits her foot under the table and Eric seems rather coy, "Eat up, you're looking a little pale there, Kate."

"You not feeling good?" her father asks and the attention is all on her as she tries to cover the blush creeping up her neck.

"I'm fine. I had a horrible day. No thanks to you…" She tips her head towards Eric.

"We had a breakthrough today, though. You just needed a little encouraging," he says, the corner of his mouth lifting.

She arches an eyebrow at him, "You mean, you coerced me into using my anger to take down Harvey."

"Who's Harvey?" Kate and Eric glance at Mick, having forgotten he was there for a moment.

"A guy who is on the same course as me," Kate explains, rolling her eyes.

"A real fucking idiot," Eric adds, stabbing at his chicken and chuckles to himself.

Mick is reserved, tilting back in his chair. "I see." But the moment he says it, his phone begins buzzing. He dusts his hands off, swallowing his remaining mouthful and answers quickly. "Yeah?" There's a pause, and Kate can just make out his PA's voice on the other end. "Alright. Keep 'em there, I'm on my way."

Eric tries to stand but Mick waves him off, "I got this. See yourself out. Darl'," Mick kisses the top of her head. "Hair smells delightful. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, dad." After watching him leave in silence, Eric finishes his food, breathing in with obvious contentment. "You want anything else?"

"No."

"Okay." She gets up to gather the dishes and cutlery, that being the only noise in the entire apartment. Feeling awkward, she glances at Eric over her shoulder and says, "You don't have to stay. You can go whenever you want."

"I know. Don't you like my company?" Kate rolls her eyes to herself as she walks to the sink in the kitchen, preparing to wash up. With the taps running, she doesn't see more senses him walking up to stand next to her. "Never took you for a domestic."

"One thing I hate is the expectation that women should be in the kitchen." She smiles, beginning to clean the dishes. "And I'll be damned if any man ever expects that of me."

"I didn't say I expected anything of you. I'm just pointing out that it's rather strange to be watching you clean a plate…" He steps back so she can place a clean dish on the rack. "...rather than reloading a gun."

"Hmm, I think I could still kill you with a plate." She notices his hand as he leans up against the counter next to her.

He chuckles to himself. "You could try."

"I'd be more afraid of making a mess and Lorraine coming back to find it," she huffs.

"Wow, so you're actually contemplating my attempted death by dishes."

She nudges him with her side while her hands are still occupied in the water and laughs. "I'm contemplating it every second you stand there and do nothing. The least you could do is dry up."

He gives a quick nod in affirmation and finds the dish cloth, rolling up his sleeves fractionally. She scoffs, watching him. "Okay, I see what you mean, it's weird." He raises an eyebrow in question. "...Seeing someone being domestic..."

"One thing I hate is the expectation that I do anything other than make orders and drink my coffee black. I'll be damned if-" Kate splashes him with water, laughing loudly as she pushes the cloth he's holding towards his chest to dry him.

"I'm sorry," she says but she can't stop herself from giggling, even when he dips his hands into the soapy bubbles and stubs her nose with it way too fast for her to respond.

"I'll make you eat the-" Kate gives him a long and slow swipe across his chin as he groans in displeasure. She giggles, admiring the bubble beard.

"Ah, that's better, now you look pretty." She scoops more up and lifts her hand to swipe some more onto his face. "I think… a little extra here-"

But before she can touch him, his hand flies up and grabs her wrist, gently coaxing her arm down. Huffing to himself, he moves closer and his touch lingers against her exposed skin. His posture changes the air around them as he leans, a frown on his face. "Kate…" he murmurs, his thumb caressing up the most delicate part of her wrist. She allows it for a moment before pulling away.

"Eric…" she says as a slight warning, not fully understanding where the conversation was going or could go, and turns away from him. She doesn't want to hear what he was about to say. Whatever was happening, or had been happening as their friendship grew over the last week, was wrong, and particularly dangerous after everything she had gone through with her father. But it doesn't mean that she can't feel the slight off-balance; her world shifting recently from his small acts and advances. She was old enough to recognize flirtation, and more importantly coming from a person who never would unintentionally.

"Look, just let me finish." He waits until she slows, glancing at him. "Back in the locker room… the other day..." His eyes linger down to the counter in front of them, his stuttering is unusual, and in irony Kate's smile is brittle. "I wanted to say that I have never thought about your sisters in that way and would never speak to Lorraine over something so ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous…" Eric grimaces to himself. "But I forgot the details because-"

"I'm really not…" she scoffs trying to appear blase but against her own will she scrubs the cutlery harder than necessary. "..I'm not interested in any of that. You don't have to explain anything to me."

"I know, you're right, I don't. But I _want_ to."

"I think you are a brave man, Eric." She watches his eyebrows knit together, his jaw ticking back and forth like he knew what was coming. Speaking the words freely from what she was thinking earlier, was a strange sense of relief. "You're smart. You're undeniably strict because you have to be. You're admired... Don't ruin it."

"'Ruin' wouldn't be the term I would use," his voice raises defensively like she had just insulted his entire being. But then again, she had just subtly turned him down.

"Don't waste it, then."

"Waste? The only thing I'm wasting is time. Things have changed, Kate."

"For you, maybe. Nothing has changed for me." Her quip is more aimed at her situation; being bolted to stay at the family home, her career path still set, her personal life still as caged. "Please go." She lets her eyes close, a tightness in her chest while time seems to stand still with the words lingering. "Please."

The air rushing past on his exit is an awful sense when what she truly meant was the opposite. But she had to put herself first. And that meant that she didn't want to defy her dad or potentially cause a difficulty for her job, or Eric's.

Then why was a heavy feeling of regret still smothering her?

* * *

The peaceful, serene atmosphere in the early morning before Eric had to go to the Public Sector, is interrupted from about fifteen feet down the hall. He can hear Mick's overly loud and pretentious voice boom, distorting the small and brief notes he was jotting; a long line just scrawled through half a sentence. He breathes in deeply, calming himself.

"Eric!" He appears in the doorway of his office, holding his hands out as if he was some miraculous spectacle, and it takes every effort for Eric not to roll his eyes at him. "Did old Bess out there give you the update of last night?"

"We have two extra criminals confined until we can push the records on Candor. Yes, I saw it."

"Okay, smoKAY…" Mick strolls into the room, falls into the spare chair opposite Eric and crosses one of his legs. "Give it to me."

"Nothing to report."

"So, it's ultimately worked?"

"Kate is just as Dauntless as the next. I have no qualms she will pass and make it as an outstanding visionary officer." He lets himself continue on with his work in distraction. He only had fifteen minutes until rushing to the Public Sector to meet the small group and he was certain he had enough time to write off some paperwork so he didn't have to later.

"I see PC has lost his charm."

"Rather boring, Mick." He barely looks up from the desk.

"What's got in your bones today? You're acting the freak." Mick leans further back, loosening the muscles in his neck.

Eric's gaze is simmering as he finally lifts his head and puts down his pen. "She should know the truth."

Mick doesn't like it. He sits up straighter, gripping his hands together. "Almost a week ago you had your sights set on progression and progression alone. Now you're stirring up shit like 'I should tell her the truth'."

"If she knew the truth, a lot of this wouldn't be a problem."

"I know for a damn fact that she can't even handle _half_ of the truth!" Mick almost shouts and Eric all but stares at him. "You know, it's kind of neat that this is all coming from the same guy who said, let me think… 'Love makes you weak.' Seems you got a little dose of that." Mick growls, pulls out his phone and begins skimming through the menus. "Let me show you a little something."

Eric keeps himself as still as possible when Mick turns the phone to him and shows him a bird's eye view of the dining room and kitchen, clear enough that they could see every fine detail. And right now, the twins were at the table eating, Kate just passing with a bag slung over her shoulder, heading for the front door.

"Cool, huh?" Mick smirks at him. "I feel like I'm at home. Home away from home when I look at that." Eric knows where this is going and lets him have his moment. "So, it was mighty surprising to check in on my family and see _you_ touching my Kate last night." He pouts as he shrugs. "But I'm old and ugly enough to put my hands up when I have a little play in something and admit shit. SO, okay, I may have had a little part in this; thinking if she was looking at you, she weren't at anyone else. But I did not, indeed, give a single piece of permission to you to reciprocate such actions. In fact, I warned you, son. That was a direct order, in the nicest way possible of course."

"So, you were testing me last night…" Eric confirms, nodding his head with the new knowledge. He should have known.

"I trust Kate. But with you, I'm not so sure anymore." He turns the phone off, leaning back. "She shot you down quick though, can't say I'm not proud."

"Because she is loyal to you, as am I."

"Damn right. But I am doing, and will continue to do what I think is best."

"You're holding her back."

Mick scoffs, leaning onto his knees and shakes his head. "From what? _You_?"

"You're blowing this out of proportion, Mick. And through your insecurities, you can't see the damage you are causing. If she knew her test results perhaps it would help her discover why she has always been different; why everything has always been challenging so that she can help _herself_."

"You fucking blue-nosed prick! Keep your fancy thoughts to yourself. You don't even know half of it-"

"No," Eric speaks calmly. "You're right, I don't. But I know _some_ of it…" He takes a sharp intake of breath and rolls back in his chair to stand. If he didn't walk away now, he was afraid of what he might do. "And if you'll excuse me, I got a job to do."

Mick glares daggers at Eric's back, mumbling, "As long as that ain't my daughter… prick."

* * *

Eric marches them furiously to the magnificent sight that is Erudite. The main structure of gleaming glass was easily awe-inspiring; something Kate couldn't keep her eyes off in the distance. Scattered around the structure were living complexes, smaller and rectangular but also clearcut versions of the mothering building. The pathways were kept, grass brightly green and evenly lined. The practice of such upkeep making way for their prospect of wealth and knowledge of a clean life and mind.

The only thing, however, that greatly let the image down, was the six-foot high fences encircling the whole vicinity. Barbed wire skimmed the tops in coils, the intricate weave of the body no bigger than a finger's width.

Kate wanted to admire Erudite longer but with the perimeter they took on their round, pushing them to walk the length of the fence, it forced her to track the factionless on the other side instead.

The factionless were different here, they were more reserved, unlike at Abnegation where they were begging. Here, it felt like they were waiting and it brought a strange sense of hostility. Kate pulls her gun closer on the thought.

"Factionless…" Harvey mumbles quietly beside her, wary of the prying ears around them. "...I'd rather be dead." His words hit something hard in her chest, thinking of when her father was threatened with being factionless, the realization of exactly why he left her mother so hastily.

She replies, "Me too," without specifically meaning it. She trails off, her march faltering as she spots a group of men and a woman with a child speaking with one of the men, puffing a cigarette. He seems angry, hissing something quickly to her and grabs her arm, the child not even batting an eye. He shakes her and Kate turns to the fence, reaching out to bash on it to at least distract him.

"Kate." Eric's hand grabs her wrist. "Ignore them. It may not appear it, but these people are more desperate than the factionless at Abnegation. These people rely on narcotics and medicine, and they are unafraid to express their opinions of Erudite or the other factions freely."

"It's sad," is the only thing she manages to say, staring out to the messy groups of people without one strict law between them. The only laws they seemed to abide by were reinforced ones, from the factions they so greatly despised. The odds were never going be in their favor.

"Don't pity them." Eric watches her as she reaches out and touches the fence.

"Are they fenced out, or are we fenced in? I can't figure out which one is more fitting."

"We are divided. And to answer your question, we are _all_ technically fenced in." It takes a minute for Kate to realize he was talking about the wall surrounding the entire city.

"Do you ever wonder what is beyond it?"

"Some say nothing. Some say death. Factionless say a new world." Eric juts his jaw out as he watches the argument between the man and woman evolve.

"I said do _you_ ever wonder, not what other people think." Kate turns her head over her shoulder just as he looks at her, and he flickers between her features, almost coaxing her to blush.

"I've been conditioned to compress my thoughts on certain subjects, but it doesn't mean I have never questioned the possibility that we may not be alone."

It's almost exactly what she wanted to hear. If it had been another drawl of protocol again, she would have turned coldly, rightfully justified of her once harsh thoughts that he was a minion of her father's; that there was nothing interesting but a sharp suit and predicted image. Instead, she stares at him a minute too long. "Last night, I didn't mean what I said."

It seems to take Eric by surprise and he barks a laugh. "What? So I'm not brave or admired? Are you insulting me now?"

"No, I… I didn't want you to go last night." Perhaps her own bravery was coming from being in an open and public place, that she momentarily felt that words said out here were different than if said in privacy.

The wind seems to pick up as he doesn't reply, shifting from one foot to the other, a frown forming on his face. "That's what you should have said last night then." With his chin pulled to his chest, only his eyes dart up, probably to gauge her reaction. He breathes a long sigh as she bites her lips. "I _wanted_ you to say that, last night," he reiterates.

Her mouth goes slack and her eyes widen at him. "I didn't upset you?"

The corners of Eric's mouth flicker upwards at her surprised expression. "My forward approach can be a little overwhelming." Kate doesn't really know how to reply, so he takes charge instead. "...Just like my tutoring. So, if you'd get back with the others, that would be great."

She needs a moment to compose herself, before she says, "Yes, sir!" Her equipment clutters when she walks away, but she's happy that it's not left awkwardly. She marks that as another thing she was beginning to like about Eric. He may not be empathetic, but he was sensible.

* * *

"...There are five established buildings, holding up to 60 families or more at Erudite," Eric explains, walking ahead of them now as each, in turn, gawp at the clean infrastructure of the mother building from the inside. They had been cleared access, and only Eric was permitted inside still equipped with his rifle. As they were on training, theirs had to be secured before being allowed further into Erudite's complex. "What we don't see…" They come to a large door that he swipes his visitors pass to. "Is the product warehouses." The doors bleep green and slide sharply open with a hiss. It's a long, glass-roofed, and paved track, and off of it, Erudite workers were stationed behind booths in front of each individual opening from the track.

"Here…" Eric continues. "We have the the birth of generic items, produced for the five factions as a whole."

"Generic items?" asks the young girl Kate had helped clear the ladder from before.

"For example, on a very low level, toothpaste, deodorant, everyday household items. This is where it is created and packed. The productivity has been the same for years. You may have heard of the history of 'The Great Debate' which was a time where each faction had their own council and paid extensively into Erudite to share the produce. Of course, the outcome was settled, the council promoted to one faction, and the items are now dispersed equally."

"Abnegation being that new council and their views on communism," Kate talks just above a whisper as they pass by the great rooms with machinery robotically humming through their quota.

"Exactly. Maybe it is one thing we can thank Abnegation for, they abolished our taxes." He stops to address them face to face. "Basic items aren't the only thing produced here. Underneath our very feet is a hive working on pharmaceutical, serums, and weapons. Our presence is requested from time to time, but Erudite have their own security and officers replicating your very positions. It is essential that there is no disruption, and security details are only passed between Dauntless and Erudite marked highly classified."

"Then why do we concentrate our efforts on Abnegation and not here?" Harvey asks.

"Erudite's security is limited and solely concentrated. Our authority, however, touches all of the factions." Eric peers over to a man in a booth concentrating only on the machine in front of him. "So take a good look now, because this may be the very last time you will ever get a chance to. A debrief into emergency situations regarding Erudite will be provided on the day you pass and sign strict confidentiality to."

"What if someone infiltrates the information?" Kate asks, worried over the relaxed atmosphere when in reality, the convenience to their small world laid not far beneath the place she stood.

Eric grins sadistically. "The penalty of death."

* * *

Kate is only just handed back her rifle when a buzz through the crowd captures her attention. She's quick to sign her name, turning to find a few Erudite in the lobby parting ways to the sound of clicking heels. Shortly after, Jeanine and her personal entourage appear, a sleek smile on her face as she approaches, and instantly her eyes settle on Eric.

Jeanine holds his stare until she is within reach and she greets him politely. A few words are passed until Kate can overhear what they are saying. "I'm glad to see the future of our society still take a great interest in our productivity center. It is essential-" Suddenly, Jeanine's sleek expression changes when she glances at Kate, hindering her speech but not enough to draw attention. "-that the small conditions we ask are abided by. I look forward to hearing of your advancement to full officers."

Kate's small group of rookie guards thank her and the atmosphere relaxes somewhat. That's when Jeanine approaches, and Kate begins to stiffen. "I feel you are familiar." Jeanine looks her up and down, leaning closer as she tilts her head. "But I can't place you."

"I'm Mick's eldest daughter, Kate Jones."

"Ah…" she drawls for a long moment. "Of course you are." In Kate's peripheral, she sees Eric shift closer. "It's great to see you again."

"Again?" Kate questions before she could even think about it.

Jeanine smiles. "Why, yes. But you were only a little girl the last time I saw you. Dauntless suits you. Say hello to Mick for me."

Kate's eyebrows are pinched as she watches Jeanine bow her head and toddle off with her swamping groupies.

"Kate," Eric calls her, but she can't help turning back to watch Jeanine further down the hall, stumbling to keep up and almost knocks into Eric holding the door for her. "You alright?" he murmurs.

She ponders for a moment, looking up to the building as they exit, the glass shimmering as something whispers in the back of her mind - a strange sense of familiarity of the same view. "...I'm fine."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:

I'm sorry this took forever, I went on a little break. :)

I hope you are enjoying this story, and that you have a great weekend!

Big shout out to the Beta !

* * *

After jogging with Laura for a good half an hour, Kate had slowed to a pace where she could catch up on the latest gossip, but only having to find herself lingering back to Erudite earlier that day and hearing nothing her friend was actually telling her.

Dauntless is directly ahead of them as they slip through the patrol units crossing their paths, along with groups of civilians every so often until they reach the main steps. Laura's linked arm through hers pulls Kate forward. Whether it be from their run or the fact her thoughts were lost and a strain Kate couldn't get rid of, she feels exhausted, her feet almost stumbling to keep up.

"There's a group of us going and you should totally come too." Laura stops her before they move up the steps, "Like, really. And some lame excuse why you can't won't be accepted."

"I'll think about it." Kate pleads internally that Laura will drop this subject quickly, she was zero percent interested. "Maybe I'll skip this one and go to the next after I'm a little more settled. The last thing I'd want is to turn up to work looking like Harvey most days."

"Oh, that doofus…" Laura rolls her eyes. "And didn't I just say, lame excuses won't be-" A heavy hand lands on Laura's shoulder, and slowly she turns, her words lost as she cranes her neck up to Eric standing behind her. "Oh."

"Kate, what a coincidence." He sets his hands behind his back, letting a foul-play smile linger for the sake of Laura.

"Hi..." Kate frowns at him. "Eric…" They had plenty of time together in the day so she fears whatever is the reason for him to go to such lengths to find her out of hours had to be bad.

"I'm Laura," her friend blurts out, beaming a grin that had plenty of young Dauntless men usually swooning for. However, Eric barely bats an eye, his sights firmly set on Kate.

"Yeah…" he drifts off from Laura's unnecessary introduction. "Can I speak with you for a minute, Kate?"

Kate crosses her arms, shrugging slightly. "I was just heading home."

"It won't take long."

"I'm Laura from the last-"

Eric's eyes snap to Laura, uninterested at the most. "Yes, I know who you are. Give us a minute." He seems to purse his lips, fighting his own inner words. "...Please."

Laura's bubble seems to burst as she blinks multiple times. "Oh, yes, sure. I'll text you later." She waves, turning back on the last step of the entrance for one last look before scooting quickly inside.

As Eric checks she's gone, Kate slips her fingers through her ponytail, checking for flyaways, and then wipes the corners of her mouth before he turns back around, smiling innocently when he does. "Is there a problem?"

"No." A group of people jog past and he traces them until they are out of earshot. "Messaging felt impersonal and from experience I knew where you'd be-"

"So, you're following me now?" she asks suggestively. "I thought you'd have better things to do."

Eric's eyes narrow ever so slightly, his mouth twitching upward. "Better _things_ to do?"

"You know, being a Leader, your own physical fitness, appetite...demands. It makes for a very busy man, usually."

"What can I say? I'm good at timekeeping." His teeth show with his smile and Kate can't help but coyly grin back.

"I'll take your word for it."

"You do that…" Eric breathes in deeply, his posture loosening. "...Your dad might be held up tonight and Lorraine's not fixing dinner."

"Oh, right." Kate bites her lip, trying to look at anything other than him as a flush begins creeping up her back before the thought hits her. "Are you here because my dad ordered you?" She meets his eyes now, the familiar gray she'd gotten used to falling into, so much so, that they never took her by surprise anymore. It was something much more fulfilling; something comfortable, something far greater, something easier that didn't make her pause for a moment but for a lengthy time, and quite happily.

"To make sure you ate something?" He gives her an incredulous look that wrinkles his brow. "No. I'm pretty certain you're not that incapable."

Kate steps closer to his unmoving form, shifting from one hip to the other nervously. "So, are you asking me to have dinner with you?"

"As in a quick sandwich from the canteen before I walk you home, I suppose," he shrugs. "If that's what you want to call it."

"Ah, there might be a problem, I'm kind of busy…"

"No, you're not." He shakes his head, chuckling at the flirty way she twists on her heel.

"I haven't got my points card."

"I'm sure I can buy you a sandwich."

"So, you _are_ asking me to have dinner with you?"

"You're not going to stop until I say yes..." Kate grins as she steps past him, bumping his shoulder to coax him to follow her. "That's manipulation."

"I must be learning?"

She's up two steps when he decides to follow her, biting his cheek as his eyes slip to her ass. Those small, black shorts should be illegal.

* * *

"...It's not that I don't like tomato. I like it cooked in stuff but raw it's just too bitter and overpowering." Kate takes another bite of her sandwich, chewing quickly. "Did we really need these fries, though?" Her voice almost echoes in the dimly lit and mostly vacant canteen. They sit opposite each other on the end of one of the long generic tables.

Eric's devoured his within a few minutes, swallowing his last piece and watching the loathingly-slow way she maps out her next bite. "You could've told the kitchen staff that _before_ they made it."

"It said chicken and salad, I thought it meant just lettuce." Finally looking up to him, he still seems tense, shoulders broad as he sits leaning on his arms. Kate stops eating, smiling as the thought hits her. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Do you have to kill me with a plate afterward?"

Kate snorts. "Depends on whether you can keep this embarrassing secret of mine."

"Depends on how funny it is."

Kate throws a piece of leftover lettuce at him. "I'm being serious here!"

"I'm ninety-five percent serious most days."

"I'm just going to come out and say it anyway and if you laugh it is definitely death by dishes." Eric gestures for her to continue. "This is the first time a guy has treated me to… dinner." She smiles, "Even if it's just a sandwich."

"Honored. But I hate to break it to you, your dating life, or lack thereof, is hardly a secret."

Kate groans, whispering to herself, "Why do I _suck_ at secrets?" And Eric tries to suppress a laugh at her genuine concern.

"Since we are having an honest moment, it's not the only reason why I came to find you." Kate lifts her head, her frown of self-disgust warping to suspicion. He leans further across the table, keeping his voice low, "I'm not going to tell you, though."

"But-"

"No," he exhales and leans back with a smug smile. "It's a secret. Once told it's not a secret anymore, and you _suck_ at secrets anyway."

Her mouth drops open and she picks up the left and cooling fries on the table, launching one at him. "Now you are potentially being a jackass. And that… there…" she looks him up and down, stumbling over her words while trying to remain annoyed at his pleased face. "...is the opposite of honesty."

"Compared to others, I'm honest with you… Most of the time." She rolls her eyes at him. "You want honesty?"

There's something sharp about his tone but she glides over it. "It's a huge thing for me. Try me."

"This is honestly nowhere near considered 'dinner with a guy'." He breaks into a condescending laugh. "It's just a sandwich with your superior." Kate shakes her head at his audacity, suddenly feeling mocked in his shift in attitude and scoots her chair out to leave, but he's too quick. Throwing his leg out underneath the table, he drags the chair back by the toe of his boot until she freezes, her palms flat on the surface of the table. "And as your superior, I can tell you, after this course, you will be an officer, and I'll still be a Leader, fulfilling our duties."

"Okay, Eric." Though she felt she had suddenly turned white. "I-I don't understand where you are going with-"

He scrunches his face up and exclaims angrily, "God, why are you so thick sometimes? In fact, you seem blind or deaf to whatever I try to say or do, palming off with 'It's fine,' 'It's okay,' when it's not."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me what you want." She opens her mouth but nothing comes out, blinking around the room for a form of relief as he doesn't once look away. "What you honestly want," he interrupts her as she flails on the spot.

Kate's heart in thrumming in her chest, the blood pulsing in her ears. For the first time, someone had offered her an option; to truly choose something she wanted personally, not to make do, and it was overwhelming. She knew the hidden meaning behind his words. It was obvious now that their conversation earlier had been following him all day, and Eric did what he does best, he waited until his duties were over and got straight to the point. She wonders if Mick being busy wasn't entirely a coincidence.

But it leaves her mulling over something far more significant, that she had once or twice created in her mind, and that on its own left a bitter taste in her mouth. Could she watch Eric eventually be with someone else for the rest of her time at Dauntless? Could she intentionally go against her father's wishes?

And as per usual, she is never good with moments like this that she has to inwardly swallow down the sudden urge to cry.

"Kate?" Eric prompts her, studying her closely for however long she had sat motionless.

On a slow exhale, she moves a clammy and unsteady hand across the surface of the table and touches Eric's fingertips. He instantly reciprocates, his larger fingers moving across hers, pulling her into the warmth of his palm and for a second her eyes close.

Suddenly she pulls away, wiping her cheek as she stands and walks with caught breath as quickly as she possibly could; her mind completely torn in two. She's barely made it through the canteen doors, hearing him call her name, and when she doesn't respond, he pulls her back by her wrist. It's a poor attempt at anything she's learned but easily twists from his grasp, hitting outwards as he grabs her upper arms. "Stop this! Stop!" She's merely thrashing, pushing at his chest, her words hissed.

"If you wanted me to stop, you could stop me."

"You're a Leader. You're supposed to like other girls, bothered girls, _available_ girls!" she stresses.

Eric steadies her head with a hand engulfing the side of her neck, careless by her clammy skin or loose hairs pulled free from her ponytail, and locks her eyes with his. "You are available, as far as I know."

"This-this is trouble."

"It's too late."

"My dad…" Her lips tremble and he strokes her lower with his thumb.

"I'm going to tell him." He pushes his body more against hers and she has to step back until they stand in the darkest part of the long cavernous hallway. "I'll tell him." His breath fans her face, and she wished he would kiss her now - a fleeting thought, closing her eyes as if to subconsciously urge him.

"Oh. My. God!" An all too familiar voice on the verge of laughing suddenly prises the two apart.

"Rose!" Kate pushes Eric further away and he turns haughtily, wiping a hand across his chin in annoyance before facing Kate's half-sister. A second later Regina shows up with another girl behind Rose. And all three of the girls seem to know instantly what was happening, snickering between themselves.

"I caught them kissing!" Rose's voice booms, it seems, through the entire vicinity.

"That's a lie!" Kate tries desperately to recover the situation but Rose merely flicks her hair.

"Whatever, but if you think for a second I'm not going to tell dad - oh, you can forget it!" She begins giggling like a shorn duck. "This is just too good. Mom is going to love this. And you two are going to be in _so_ much trouble."

"Kate, leave it. We'll find Mick now." Eric pulls on her shoulder. But Kate can't, watching Rose fish out her phone from her purse and put it to her ear. From, what felt like, a long state of limbo, things had jacked up way too fast for her to comprehend.

"Dad, I just bumped into Kate and Eric-" With those words, Kate sobs into her hand, shrugging Eric off, and shamefully heading back to the apartment.

* * *

Though Kate wouldn't stop and managed to get inside her home, shutting the door on him, Eric waits outside as the minutes turn into twenty. He chews his lip, arms crossed, at the very least his jaw ticks in irritation. After a moment he tries knocking again, leaning into his arms stretched up on the doorway. He pauses, his eyes traveling to the side as he straightens.

"Well, well, well…" Mick takes purposefully casual steps down the quiet hall, coming to a slow stop with his palms showing. "The shit has hit the fan."

"Rose is exaggerating. What she saw was-"

"You kissing Kate, apparently."

"We weren't. We were talking." Eric can't help the spite in his voice, his teeth locked as he takes a step closer towards Mick.

Mick sighs, pouting his bottom lip. "I don't care what you were doing because whatever it was, was against _everything_ we have ever been through. I warned you-"

Eric takes the little distance left between them, squaring up, their eyes level. "Do you know what, I am fucking sick and tired of your bullshit. I'm trying to decide at what point loyalty is perverted into stupidity."

"Funnily enough, I was just thinking the same thing." Mick's eyes darken. "You have two seconds to walk away and we can forget about all this rumor mishap."

"Who is Kate to Jeanine?" Eric's sudden question plunders Mick's anger, his face hinting to one of surprise, his shoulders somewhat shrinking back as his confidence drains right in front of him. "If you won't tell me, I'll ask her myself."

"I told you not to take her there," Mick hisses through his teeth, trying to keep his voice from traveling. "I told you right at the beginning!"

"You once told me that assurances are the only thing we can rely on. Your example was people and bargaining, throwing rewards to save face. Mine comes from knowledge, what is truthful, something that doesn't stand on a pillar of shit waiting for the legs to be swiped out from underneath it."

Mick scoffs, his eyes rolling closed for a brief moment. "You really are a knock off the old block."

Eric stares at him resolutely with the same frown now beginning to set permanently whenever around this dated old man. "No. I'm not." He shifts from one leg to the other. "And your deception proves it... Who. Is. She?" Eric finally demands.

"She's her aunt. She ain't her mom if that's what you're thinking. She's a deadbeat aunt that's had me hoping for a successful assassination attempt for as long as I can remember." He laughs to himself. "I think I may even have a calendar somewhere marking off the days."

"Why doesn't Kate know she's her aunt?"

"It's better this way, believe me." When Mick scratches his beard, the sound makes Eric almost recoil. "Kate's mom and Jeanine were monstrous opposites. And that is why she can't know. She idolizes a woman who has been dead and buried for a _fucking_ long time. To the point, I believe, she would trace exactly in her mother's footsteps if I didn't keep her on the straight and narrow..." Mick realizes he is saying too much, catching himself with a sharp intake of breath, a dazed look forming on his face the longer Eric stares at him. "...This is far beyond your comprehension."

"I understand just fine. You're _fucking_ insane..." Eric barks a laugh, pinching the bridge of his nose before lifting his head back up to Mick's airy expression. "You had me fooled. At one point I saw a leader worthy of heading Dauntless. Now all I see is an obsessed old man, fighting to stay lost in his past while using Kate to do so."

"We'll see who has the last laugh. After all," Mick shrugs, "she's a daddy's girl."

"Has me almost wondering whether you get off on that, Mick."

"Well, I certainly know you do." Eric steps forward, bracing his arm, but Mick throws his hands out to the side, chuckling lowly. "Go ahead. Look, I'll even make it easy for you, I'll close my eyes…" Mick then puts his hands behind his back. "No hands… Give it your best shot, son. You were taught by the best and I expect nothing less."

Mick waits on the spot, his head almost tilted up to mock Eric further. Eric sniffs to himself, wiping his face quickly, and Mick opens an eye to peek at him. "Ah, I knew you'd be a sissy."

Eric tilts his neck slowly to one side on a long inhale of breath, then launches himself forward, fisting the front of Mick's jacket as he slams him up against the nearest wall. He pushes his fists deep into the old man's chest, crushing him further, trying to keep at least one line of reasonable thought in his mind why he shouldn't fracture each individual and brittle rib of Mick.

The vein is back on the side of his head, his breath no more than a drawn snarl.

"Pussy."

Bringing his knee up swiftly, Eric aims for the fleshy part of Mick's stomach, hearing the grunt on impact.

"Ah!" Mick spittles the hall, cradling himself as he stumbles. "There is that delightful…" he hocks and spits, leaning up against the wall. "...Dauntless side I have _so_ greatly missed." He scoffs, groaning as he straightens, "Erudite must've practically thrown you out!"

"Go and play happy families while you can, Mick, before everything turns to shit around you." It takes every fiber of Eric's being to turn and walk away, but he stops short, his breath still staggered in his blinding anger; the effort to keep his feet from finding their way back to snap Mick's irritable face from his aged body. "And if it isn't obvious, Kate and I-"

"You'd have to kill me first," he spits out as a threat, though he's still struggling from Eric's attack. And he meant it.

For what reason, Eric couldn't quite decipher, although he had multiple suggestive ideas in his head about Kate's mother and what possibilities Mick could assume as dangerous if Kate was on Eric's side. Perhaps it was the untimely threat to Mick's position. Eric knew he'd leveled easily with Mick through training, and even as a leader now, he was pushed by the others onto areas Mick usually oversaw. With Kate by his side, with her measured mind and practicality, unafraid to put her hand into work where others probably wouldn't, they could end up being the preferred power couple.

Suddenly he liked the idea far more than before when now doused in measurable spite.

"That can be arranged." Lifting his cheeks and performing a mocking head bow, he leaves. If Mick wanted to be petty, he had no problems in rallying. After all, Mick said he had been taught by the best.

* * *

Mick finds that Kate had locked herself in her room. Well, not so much locked as he had banished the girls from having locks on their bedroom doors years ago. But on the act of decency, and a far better solution, he thought, he wasn't going to pull the mad father act and push his way into her room.

Instead, he takes a step back, inches from the white wood she is hiding behind, and thinks, hard.

Every few minutes he hears the betraying sniffs from her side. There was only ever a few incidents when Mick had ever seen his poetically different daughter cry, and that is how he knew he was in the advantage already.

But weirdly, in this moment, he suddenly peters out on long distant memories of her mother. There was no denying that Kate was the spitting image of her; the dark brown wispy hair just below her shoulder, the dark green eyes, the shape of her brow, down to the slight descent of her nose. Though, Kate's eyes were unknowing, not at all defying, unlike her mother's. And at least, for that, he is grateful.

Mick sucks on his bottom lip, sighing to himself before bringing himself closer to the gap in the door. "I know my girl is in there."

"Please, just go away." Her voice breaks, and he hears something being moved from inside.

"I'm not angry." His voice is soft and guiding, though his expression is pained when he says it. "It's just me and you right now." When she doesn't reply he breathes in deeply. "At least let me do the fatherly act if anything at all. I'm coming in now." Slowly he tilts the door handle, opening the door to her sitting braced on the bed, her eyes still puffy and she can't seem to look up at him.

"Rose is lying."

"Yes, yes." He slips down next to her, the bed dipping, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I know. Eric told me everything."

"He did?" She looks up, incredibly relieved, or maybe it was hopeful.

"He did. We had a little chat. We worked some stuff out. I learned some new things." He talks flippantly, as if he hadn't been out in the hall moments earlier insulting Eric's entire being; letting Eric's slight of tongue finish with an obliged arrangement of his death. "This is my fault. I take full responsibility for this mess. I put you two together and invited him into my home, of course a sense of attachment was going to happen."

"Sense of… attachment?" Kate's fine eyebrows dip, a bewildered look rising on her face.

"Yeah, I mean, I know he had been looking out for you for a while, on my orders. I got the gist that he's just being overprotective." He shrugs nonchalantly, peeking at her out of the corner of his eye as she drops her head to her lap, twisting her fingers together. "That's just part of the job."

"You're saying he is only doing it because he has to? That I've had special treatment?"

"I wouldn't say special treatment. But he has been monitoring you, so to speak." It's like the nail in the coffin and he could almost smile if it wasn't such a critical situation.

"But he said-"

Mick stops her by turning towards her, stroking her arm as any loving parent would. "Darling, he's a man under my orders, who needs guidance. He was outside just now and we had this conversation. He knows it's a mistake." She's still lost in thought, and he had seconds to stop her troubled mind. Mick flinches, hissing as he turns his body straight again. It instantly has her change from confused to concerned.

"Dad?"

"I let him give me one in the gut for our problems; to let him cool his anger a little. He's always had a knack for violent episodes when he doesn't get his way. Let's remember, we are talking about a boy in leadership here, not some wall-mount you pass by outside in the courtyard. After all, I'm grooming him as much as I can to replace me as soon as I retire." He stands up and stretches with a hand on his hip, favoring his stomach as obviously as he could. "He's a smart boy. I'm not begrudging him. I love him like he is my own. But I love you more, and you are convenient for him." Kate's lips are parted, struggling with such brutal honesty. "He will try to push further, use anything to his advantage, even you, in order to get to this position much faster."

"Eric wouldn't… He said-"

"Funny you pass in the same week he comes to terms with his long-lost feelings for you, isn't it?" Mick leans over her and plants a kiss on the top of her head. "Just think about it."

He offers her a grieving smile as he leaves, shutting the door quietly behind him, and all Kate could do was stare at the place where he last stood.

She wonders whether Eric would be that type of guy. That maybe she had misread him from the moment she had met him. That he obviously had helped her through to the position she was in today, only to get his own advantage out of it.

Her stomach twists sickeningly, a white cold flush spreading through her limbs as her hands tremble. The realization hits her more than anything, that he, Eric Coulter, was totally capable, and it's not like she made it hard for him. She'd stupidly lingered on every small look or attentive behavior and tricked herself into believing that someone like him would be interested in her for anything other than advancement. He'd even spelled it out to her right at the beginning but all she had concentrated on was the fact he'd called her pretty. She was stupid. A stupid little girl.

The trinket next to her bed she was fiddling with moments before her father came into the room sits positioned on top of the crumpled photo of her mother. She gazes down at it with a hardened stare, the tears welling in her eyes, just as she snaps.

She slaps the painted green, no bigger than her palm, music box across the room. It just misses her full-length mirror and hits the wall, cracking the forever broken lid open.

She regrets it immediately once the reality seeps in, and a small chime from a note inside has her dashing across the room. Cursing, she grabs the music box, suddenly reluctant as an oily liquid seeps from the barest of cracks. She pushes up the lid further, as the softest and simplest song begins to play...

 _The room is dark. The bed is huge compared to the small girl as she cowers against the wall, just below the window, wedging herself as far back as possible, but just enough to see the passing of feet from the brightly lit doorway._

 _She watches, sometimes having to peer under the bed to get the full view, as hardened heels pace just outside._

 _She is cold and hugs her knees tightly, trying to stop herself from whimpering. It doesn't help at all that her favorite dress is tattered and torn. Her shoes, dolly shoes usually bright red, also had blemishes and she eyes them sadly; they are the ones she loved to run in, the ones that made her run faster._

 _From outside the room, something slams and she is torn from her musings. A woman's voice carries over. "She's been in there all evening. She won't come out. I even offered her candy." The woman sounds tired and her words are too quick to be kind. And she didn't offer her candy, the woman had put her up at the table after pulling her by the arm, dropping sugary treats in front of her without a word. That's when she had run in her fast red shoes and dove by the side of the bed in a room she didn't know, trying to hide under it whenever the woman tried to grab a hold of her again. "She's feral, and she is already causing problems."_

 _"_ _Try and be a little more sympathetic, eh? She just saw her mom-"_

 _"_ _Whatever! We have twin babies next door and I don't want this waking them up!"_

 _Babies? The little girl likes babies. She remembers a young woman letting her help dress one back at home. She couldn't remember the baby's name, ever, so she gave it a name herself - Dandelion._

 _She pulls herself into a tighter ball when a large shadow blocks all the light. They are whispering far too quietly for her to understand. In fact, she doesn't even care, she just wants to go home._

 _The large shadow treads lightly into the room, suddenly appearing at the foot of the bed. "Hey, there," he whispers. He has a funny beard, half disappearing by the light. "Katie-Lynn, you wanna come out now?"_

 _Slowly, the little girl shakes her head, still tucked up in her ball of protection._

 _"_ _I thought not. Everything's a little strange, huh, doll?" He smiles now and it's a nice smile that she suddenly relaxes just ever so slightly to, dropping her legs to pick up her head, looking at him through her lashes. She sniffs, feeling the urge to cry, but she is too terrified to. "Mommy's had to go away for a while."_

 _"_ _Mommy?"_

 _His eyes brighten at her voice, "Yes, so you're going to stay here with us."_

 _"_ _Mommy said, that I… I shouldn't speak to strangers."_

 _"_ _Oh, Katie-Lynn, we're not strangers, we're family. Me and your mommy are very good friends." He smiles again. "I got you a little something."_

 _"_ _My mommy's friend?" Her tinged brown hair bobs in tangled curls as she gets to her knees._

 _"_ _You wanna see?" Katie-Lynn also likes presents, so slowly she nods, standing up as he plonks himself on the end of the bed. She grips her dress as she warily steps closer, trying to see what he's hiding. "Here, come look." She accepts him picking her up and putting her on his knee. He holds her like she has seen the other Daddy's do, but she is still trying to peer to the hand hiding her present._

 _He hands her a small box. It's green. She preferred red, but it doesn't matter. Eagerly, she takes it from him, turning it over and over, even shaking it, and eventually opens the lid to a song playing._

 _"_ _Katie-Lynn," he murmurs behind her._

 _"_ _Yes?" She turns around, blinking up at him as he smoothes her hair away from his beard. "What is your name?"_

 _"_ _It's Mick. But you can call me daddy if you like?"_

 _"_ _Daddy?" Her brows furrow and she looks down at the box again to play with it, humming along. "I don't have a daddy."_

 _"_ _You do now." She ponders his words for a moment. She'd never had one before but he seemed nice enough. "What do you think? You think you could call me daddy?"_

 _She shrugs. "Okay."_

 _"_ _Can I call you Kate? I like that much better."_

 _She doesn't understand why he wants to call her Kate but bringing the trinket high above her head and swooping it down with the music, she nods absentmindedly._

 _His hold tightens around her and he chuckles, murmuring, "My sweet little Kate."_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

I'm so sorry this took forever to get up. I hope it's worth the wait.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Kate had kept to herself the next morning. She had risen much earlier and was ready by the time any of her family could brush their teeth. The small music box she had wrapped in an old vest, hiding it in her bag to take it with her. As far as she knew, music boxes didn't leak liquid, and the memory from last night had only came on once she had smashed the box. Whether it be instinct deep down in her gut or the fact the memory had something to do with her dad, she didn't want to approach the subject with him just yet.

The only thing that had frightened her was that she had never had such a vivid memory before, and that alone was unusual.

She waits with her hand on the door handle, listening for silence so she could hopefully avoid any interaction with anybody. And also because she didn't want to bump into the likes of Lorraine, who she was sure would know what happened last night between her and Eric.

With a deep breath, she tries to leave hurriedly, slowing to the sight of Mick reading notes quietly to himself at the table. He peers up, looking at her up and down suspiciously, probably because she was too ready too early. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I slept fine," she replies curtly and tries a weak smile, passing Mick without stopping.

"But you haven't had breakfast," he calls casually over his shoulder.

His voice has a flash of anger spike inside her. She wanted to suddenly ask about the weird memory of hers, if her true name was changed by him, more details about her mother she suddenly felt uneasy about.

"I'm not hungry. I'll see you later." There wasn't an inch of usual kindness to her voice. She had more important things rolling around her mind. Foremost, she would have to face another person this morning that she had lost sleep over - Eric.

* * *

With her gun shouldered, Kate's irritable with the nonchalant way Eric addresses the group, unaffected by last night. His electronic device is in his hand and he speaks to that more than them as they wait to go beyond the barrier of Dauntless. "We have clearance in Candor…" Kate rolls her lips between her teeth, funny that they go to the faction based on truth after their ordeal. "It's a routine exploration, just like Erudite, to get you used to their site. Keep to yourself. Guns will be locked on entry. Let's go."

"Why Candor?" Kate is suddenly surprised by Harvey appearing beside her, falling into step. "I can't think of a worse place to go. It's so… boring."

"Well, we get this out the way then perhaps it's Amity tomorrow. But I agree, if politics or councilling isn't your thing, then it is considered boring."

"Is it your thing?" He nudges her, much to her dislike.

She quickly scowls at him, wondering if he would ever stop talking. Usually she had patience, but not today. She wanted to be left alone. "If it was my thing, I wouldn't be here."

"I mean as in like an interest?"

"Not at all."

"But your dad being-"

"I am not him!" she spits out and halts on the spot to face him. "And if I was you, your opinions should be kept to yourself and you should be concentrating on these last days of training, not complaining over-"

"Kate!" Eric barks her name. Through her outburst, she hadn't seen him double back to where they had stopped. "Is there a problem?"

She diverts her eyes to the side. "No."

But Eric doesn't look too convinced. He pushes Harvey's shoulder towards the group and steps closer, lowering his head in a reprimanding way, keeping his voice low. "We need to talk, I understand." He watches her face, the few blinks and the haughty sigh that escapes her. Shifting ever closer, he uses his shoulders to block them from the group waiting ahead. "But this comes first."

"I have _nothing_ to say to you," she mutters defiantly.

The piercings above his brow glint as a natural frown descends and he inhales sharply. His mouth opens on a pause, before he asks with an edge of suspicion, "What has Mick said to you?"

"Maybe I should thank you for getting me where I am today."

"Being a bitch doesn't suit you, Kate," he mumbles, his voice a mixture of anger and amusement.

"Lying doesn't suit you either, Eric. Oh wait, it somehow does." She catches herself, turning her head away as his face twists into a glare. He looks at the group over his shoulder who watch them with curiosity. "You said… you said you were honest with me," she whispers quickly.

"You need to help me out here, I have many abilities but reading minds isn't one of them." He turns back to her, pursing his lips and watches her in expectation.

"Even if you could read minds, you couldn't read mine, because it's a mess." Shaking her head, she looks down at her feet. "I don't know what or who to believe anymore."

Eric's expression hardens, and he nods while scoffing, "Got it." She looks up at him in surprise, unable to decipher his reaction. "Get back with the group. We're wasting time."

Ignoring how hurt she feels by his dismissive tone, she rushes back to the nervous group without uttering another single word, trying to pretend they haven't been trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

* * *

Candor is not entirely boring, Kate has to admit. The archways of great doorways and halls are crafted into magnificent stone art, all individually carved by some random person whose name she doesn't recognize. She looks at her surroundings with awe and as far as Kate had learned, is that the escort's name is Maggie, an older woman who is extremely enthusiastic to show off Candor to the likes of Dauntless.

"It's not often we get a training group on the premises," she says, smiling at Eric and leads them through some type of library lined with books on each side, reaching the very top of the ceiling. There are people studying intensely, writing quickly, paying no attention to them while they troop their way through.

"I'm in charge of the program and I see it as essential. This is a test run, so to speak," Eric replies politely, not bothering to face her.

"I agree. It was a smart and conscious idea, sir." She seems impressed and Kate wonders whether she was expecting brainless soldiers.

Kate moves to the side to be able to read the labels on the shelves - 'Law in practice', 'Principles of Criminal Law', 'Faction law and history', 'Guidelines A-Z' - the rows are endless, almost mind-numbing. She's pulled from the thought when a table suddenly erupts, debating against each other loudly. She looks to Maggie, who only smiles and holds a hand out, requesting them to leave the room.

Afterwards, they wait in a white corridor with frosted doors while Eric's talking quietly with Maggie. She seems pretty excited when she suddenly steps away from Eric and clasps her hands, her white jacket flowing behind her as she approaches. "Now, how about we do something a little fun and different?" she asks the silent group who share a look between each other that couldn't be described as anything other than lack-luster. Eric leans up against the wall next to the door he's nearest to, a bored look on his face as if he knew what was happening. "Follow me. Just inside here. We have a little taster for you. We cannot have you leaving here without the full experience." The group follows her and she walks through the door next to Eric who stands steadfast, unmoving as he watches them filter through.

Kate's skeptical, to say the least, that she would enjoy this. Heading in last, she gives a quick glance over her shoulder to the way they had come. She's half-way through the door when Eric pulls her out and to the side.

"Come with me," he commands without giving her much choice. He pulls her arm, slipping through a neighboring door to a quiet, simple room with a desk, a bookshelf and a cabinet with serum behind sparkling glass.

He leaves her to stand in the middle of the room as he goes to the cabinet, opens the door and fiddles with something inside.

"What are you doing?" she asks, too curious to be mad at him still.

"You want the truth. You get a minute of the truth." A serum-gun is in his hand when he turns back to her. He strolls over to the desk and faces her, leaning back against it. "I have the feeling there are some misunderstandings between us, so let me get them straight. Which is still your choice if you want to or not." He shrugs, letting the words sink in for a moment. "But here I am, we're all alone, you inject me and you can ask me anything you want."

Kate shakes her head incredulously. "Can you do this, are you allowed?"

"Candor like to show off, isn't that obvious by now? They have no problems with the sample truth serum being used. What do you think is happening next door?" His attitude is shitty with her.

"I could ask you anything, though?" she asks, still not quite convinced that he would go through with it.

His nostrils flare in her hesitance. "We going to do this or not?" he snaps, placing the serum-gun next to him on the desk, leaving the decision up to her.

Her first step towards him is careful, but the rest she rushes. Trying not to look him in the eye, she can feel the burn of his stare. His left leg drops further outward so she has to step between his legs, grabbing at the gun with tingling hands, she has to lean closer.

Kate steadies herself on his shoulder, holding the gun to his neck. "Hold still."

"Every conscious part of me is trying," he mumbles.

She pulls the trigger harder than necessary, watching as his lips part, the only reaction as the silvery liquid disappears. "I'm sorry."

"I'll only last a minute." The corners of his mouth twitch upwards. Like a typical man, he tries to pretend the serum isn't making him dizzy or nauseous, only the slightest dusting of a sweat gathering at his temple.

His stare and self-confidence are unnerving, making Kate already question whether she was right to be annoyed to begin with. Spreading his arms out, palms flat either side of him, he was every part judicious. So, she starts with a simple question. "What is your name?"

Even as high as fuck, he rolls his eyes. "Eric Coulter."

"Did you help with my results, to get me where I am today?"

"You were useless," he points out and Kate's shoulders sag. "That was my first impression. But you got here today off your own back. Though…" he hesitates for a fraction of a second. "Mick told me not to pit you against other members physically stronger than you."

"Why?"

"For your safety," he answers quickly.

It would have hurt more if she hadn't thought of this last night and what exactly her father had a say in over her life. Which leads to her next question. "Did you watch over me?"

"Yes. But I didn't have to do much." He becomes irritable, peering down at his boots. "Hurry."

"Are you pretending to like me so that you can advance quicker?" Kate folds her arms as his eyes snap to hers and he nods slowly as if something was starting to make sense.

"If I wanted to do that I could've obliged one of your sisters, Kate. No."

"So…" She rocks back on her heel as a smile threatens his face. He was used to seeing this subtle movement when she tried to disastrously flirt with him. "...You like me, in general?"

"Yes, if I hadn't made that obvious by now."

"Why?"

He frowns at her. "These are really stupid questions."

"Answer me."

"Because I find you grounding." He grips the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.

"Grounding?"

"Fuck…" he hisses and gestures at her with a hand. "And I like your black shorts."

Kate snorts to herself, shaking her head but knows there is not a lot of time to linger, so she rushes the questions. "Is my dad lying to me? Did you hit my dad? Do you know anything about Katie-Lynn?"

"Kate…" He sighs, rubbing a palm across his face.

"You told me to hurry up," she says, shrugging at him.

"Your dad is twisting the truth, to what extent I'm still trying to find out, but I believe it's to do with your heritage. I hit your dad because he's an obnoxious dick. And Katie-Lynn means nothing to me. And that's a stupid name."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Do you know anything about my mom?"

"All I know is that she's deceased, and I have seen the picture in your locker. Jeanine is…" He tries to stop himself but can't. "She's your aunt; your mother's sister."

"Jeanine?" she splutters out in disbelief.

"Mick told me." Eric pushes off the table, dabbing the side of his head with the cuff of his jacket and stands tall over her. "Whether that's the truth or not, I don't know. So I wouldn't dwell on it."

"No, no, I'm not. It's just that when we were there I had this… feeling, like I had been there before."

"I know. I saw."

Kate drops her eyes, keeping her voice low. "Can we be honest with each other from now on? No secrets."

Eric sighs, "Times up." She feels the disappointment on her face, so it must have been obvious to him. "But can I ask something of you?" She gives him the tiniest nod. "Don't jump to conclusions about me."

"The one man I truly trusted turns out to be keeping things from me, that are important to _me_. Can you blame me?"

He doesn't acknowledge her rhetorical question, his eyes dancing down the front of her uniform. "You want to tell me who Katie-Lynn is?"

Kate wonders for only a second on whether she should talk about it. But he had, after all, proven his point in the most dramatic, Eric-like way possible that he was willing to speak the truth. She bites her lip before answering.

"Don't do that." He reaches out, hesitating before he tugs on her jacket, pulling her closer to him. His proximity is exhilarating, her body reacting awkwardly to him as she rests her palms on his chest, not quite knowing how to reciprocate to such actions. "And don't ask me to be honest if you're keeping secrets."

She plays with the lapel of his jacket, feeling his hand wander under the back of her shirt, seeking out skin, her stomach twisting on contact when he touches her. "I think Katie-Lynn is me," she breathes out, his hands distracting her for a moment. "Well, I know it's me," she corrects herself. "Mick gave me something when I was little, when I first came to Dauntless, a music box. I smashed it last night and some sort of liquid came out of it, and then the memory came to me." She looks down at her hands still playing with his jacket. "He doesn't know yet."

He sighs, his fingers feather light against her skin. "I doubt he will share much more with me."

"Can we check the database under Katie-Lynn?" She suddenly looks up at him, an idea sparking. "I need to know more about my mom. This is all to do with her. Maybe there is something-"

"Don't get your hopes up," he interrupts her. "If this involves the likes of Mick and Jeanine, who knows what lengths they have gone to to erase her."

"You think they would?"

"Maybe _you_ know." It takes Kate a second to understand what he's saying. "You may remember something. We need to take a look at that box."

"We?" Kate tries not to smile too brightly, tilting her head to the side. "I like the way you just-"

"What? Speak my mind? Get straight to the point?"

"No, I like the way you talk about the possibility of there being an us." Suddenly realizing the depth of her words, she shakes her head, trying to shut her loose mouth. "I mean, even after this morning when I said you were basically a liar, and when I was truly being a bitch, you overlooked-"

His free hand cups the side of her face, surprising her when his lips meet hers. He's quick to move back, flickering to her eyes, taking a long breath in suspense.

"Eric…" she whispers in astonishment, touching the corner of her mouth.

"I know. And I'm not sorry." He frowns before his features break out into a mischievous grin. "And I'll do it again." He dips towards her but she pulls back.

"This is trouble," she can only whisper as the break in her voice betrays the only inkling of restraint she had left.

"A lot of trouble," he confirms as he closes the distance between them. Their kiss is light, lingering into something more powerful when in a sudden frantic rush, he pivots them and pushes her back against the desk.

Gentle touches could be saved because as of right now, the last pitiful barrier that had stood between them had been broken. The pleasant display on the desk is pushed over as Kate catches herself with one arm as she lands on the desk. Focused on each other and nothing else around them, she feels weightless. His harsh tugs on her thighs no effort on his part and only adding to her excitement. Only when she almost topples back, he relents, guiding her back to him.

There was something strangely satisfying with his display of force, feeling how he was truly trained to the highest degree; knowing that these wistful hands holding her so delicately, were the same ones to relieve people of their lives. But somehow she could never see that side of him - maybe through her own ignorance, knowing her father was also involved in such activities. It could be that, professionally, it was considered normal. At the very least she just didn't care in that moment.

And as untouched she may be from any man, it didn't mean she had never touched herself; she had wanted to be touched for so long, unbeknownst to her until now, claimed so openly and so carelessly as Eric was doing in that moment.

She'd always wondered how his skin felt, whether the closely-shaved sides of his hair was rough to touch, how he would kiss her, whether he had wandering hands. Everything is answered as she pulls on his neck and he shifts her hips towards him so unabashedly, so sultry, it almost takes her breath away.

However, as much as she didn't want this moment to end, the irritating sound of Eric's phone from inside his jacket's pocket startles them. A strangled noise escapes his throat, unable to resist the warmth of her mouth one last time before adjusting himself.

Pulling out his phone, he watches her carefully, her flushed face and pink cheeks. "Yes, what?" Eric holds up a finger to his mouth, telling her to be quiet before he grasps her waist again, unable to keep his hands off of her. The voice on the other end is surprisingly not her dad though, and from Eric's expression, something is off. " _What_?!" he suddenly bursts out as the voice drones on. "I'll call you back."

Kate slides down from the desk. Their moment was gone and life was beckoning them back to reality. "What's going on?" she asks cautiously.

"A shitfest! Come on," he says urgently and drags her along with him.

* * *

When they arrive in the main hall of Candor, everything seems to have come to a standstill. In the main precinct from where they had entered earlier, a hologram image plays on repeat over a situated column used for announcements and everyone listens intently.

"The faction system is a living being composed of cells; just like all of you. The only way we can survive and thrive is for each of you to claim your rightful place. The future belongs to those who know where they belong..." Jeanine's projected face seems to hesitate, but showing no exact emotion. "...Though, not with those of you who do not belong. Recent fears have been confirmed that the rise in Divergents will cripple our long sustained society. This is happening right now, and we need to protect ourselves. Conformity is key. _This_ is how we survive."

"What the hell is going on?" Harvey mumbles while Eric and Kate keep their heads tilted up towards the image billowing down on their faces with a blue aura. Suddenly Mick appears, in all his square-chinned and smirking glory, causing Kate's stomach to drop.

"With the aid of Dauntless, your faction of safety; soldiers, guards, _friends_ ," he implies strongly. "We call for the peaceful surrender of all known Divergents, or any information regarding any subject as soon as possible. Failure to do so will be met with grave consequences..."

"Eric, did you know about this?" Kate whispers.

"I knew there was something official in the works, but not that this was going public." Eric's eyes are flitting between the crowd, his eyebrows dipped in severity. "We better not hang around, Candor looks just as clueless as us."

"But you're a Leader?"

"That was Max on the phone, Mick has done this all on his own without informing any of the others. They are pretty fucking furious," he hisses.

"And you?"

He looks her up and down for a second, his lips pressed together tightly. "I'm thinking outside the box. Our struggle with Divergency has always been known." He turns towards her, ignoring the flashing images of each faction, the symbols, and then the changes that are cast in a dark light of foreshadowing; burning buildings, integration, and what appears to be campsites and a factionless-looking future. "We check out and get our guns…" he speaks quietly to her mainly, then to the group who huddle closer, "...then we head back to Dauntless. Now." Eric is the first to break away, and they all follow as quickly and discreetly as possible.

* * *

There is an urgency to Eric's movements. They scour the nearby streets around Candor, guns poised in front of them as they keep a timely pace. Stopping at the corner of buildings, Eric peeks out before signaling to move on. They don't speak, maybe because of the change of contrast to their outing, that something far direr was happening, something Kate was still trying to figure out.

Eric halts suddenly, raising his arm up with a fist, and the group immediately pushes up against the nearest wall. He makes them wait in the small alley between two buildings, catching their breath as quietly as they can. He turns on them now, walking up the line of them with a hushed voice. "We don't take any chances. This announcement is going to stir controversial beliefs from every faction. Until I'm back at Dauntless to be able to heed the information I need, we keep it tidy. People will look to Dauntless for answers, and right now we are not in a position to give it to them."

 _No thanks to Mick,_ Kate huffs on the thought.

"Beyond this building is the open street we traveled to get here and no cover."

"But-but there was no one here before, we should be fine. Right?" asks the girl in a quivering voice Kate still hadn't managed to catch the name of.

Eric seems repulsed by her and glares at her before he looks at the group. "Keep it tidy," he repeats before he marches to the front of the line, peering out beyond their cover and moves out.

"Kate!" Harvey whisper-shouts. She's in two-minds to stop, wanting to follow the group and venture out to what was beyond them. "Kate, my belt." Harvey signals to his utility belt he's trying to clip back in place while juggling the gun in his hand.

By now, a gap had formed between the last person, and she hurriedly fiddles with his buckle. "For god's sake, Harvey," she hisses.

"It was crooked, I wanted my water but I didn't want to disarm," he whines.

"So you wanted me to?" They bicker like two children, Kate shouldering her weapon and slamming the clip in place. The coast looks clear as she peeks out to her left, seeing the black silhouettes ducking in and out of the little covering of buildings. She takes one step from the wall as voices echo from the right. Not just one voice, but many. There is only seconds between her stepping back to hide to then the sight of hooded figures cluttering past.

Call it instinct or a wariness for the unknown, Kate signals Harvey to be quiet. They wait as the hooded group of three men have passed, they themselves armed, too much for any normal civilian and too decrepitly dressed in tattered pieces of mixed faction clothing.

"Okay," she whispers when the men have disappeared from sight. She takes two large steps, half jogging. But it turns out as a grave mistake. It also doesn't help that Harvey barges into her from behind as she stops, staring at a straggler with cloth hiding his mouth. Only his eyes are sharp, and they squint upon her uniform.

Kate musters up the most authoritative tone she could as she lifts her gun and points it at him. "Hands up!" But her inexperience shows through the shifting of her weight. She keeps herself trained on him through the crosshair of her gun. "Harvey, detain him."

"I was only taking a stroll," the straggler comments as they approach him, Kate aiming directly at his chest.

"In a restricted area..." she snarls and scowls at Harvey who seems to divver before finally getting the hint and pushes the man down to his knees.

"Yeah, life behind the barbed wire gets a little repetitive after awhile." He seems unbothered by Harvey shoving his hands behind his back. "Look, you let me go and we'll just pretend this never happened. I'm really not worth the paperwork."

"I'll be the judge of that," she mumbles as she keeps her eyes trained on him.

"Oh look, it's the pussy patrol!"

Kate swivels to the extra voice, not having seen or heard them approaching, too caught up in her first detainment. Harvey points the gun at the straggler's head as Kate faces off with three newly arrived factionless men. "Why don't you give the gun to me before you hurt yourself?" One of them steps forward, obviously the leader whose smile is more a sneer.

"Not happening. Put your guns down."

"And why would we do that?" He brusquely nods, followed by Harvey's cry. As she turns to see him on one knee on the floor, her gun is knocked from her hands and aimed at her. She raises her arms slowly.

"I'm a member of Dauntless, you do this and there will be no mercy for you."

"Even with my hands behind my back, I can still knock this piece of shit down," the straggler comments.

"Let's get off the street before we are seen," the ring-leader mumbles. "Let's take a look at your badge." She takes a step back as he approaches, only to end up being yanked back to him, his hands on her breast pocket as she flinches from his proximity. He smacks the laminated card against his hand mockingly, showing it to his two friends. "Kate Jones." He laughs at first then hesitates. "Jones? Kate fucking Jones? How many Jones' do we know, boys?"

Harvey groans when the straggler brings him closer. "That bastard preaching conformity. Dauntless Leader Mick _Jones_. We should hang her on display."

"No, you thick fuck, Loretta told us-" His flaring blue eyes flick back up to hers. "We'll take her with us. Get rid of him."

"No!" Kate's voice is lost to the sound of a gunshot, but it's one of the factionless men in front of her that propels forwards, stumbling down to reveal a wound to his back.

The leader drops her gun, hesitating a moment too long as he stared at her, then sprints down the alley they came from earlier, along with the two others.

Eric doesn't acknowledge her as he strides past, a look of determination while throwing his hands into his pace. He runs as far as the alley goes and stops on the other side, throwing his head left and right. "Fuck!" his voice echoes through the alley. Everyone knows the slyness and evasiveness of the factionless. They didn't want to be caught and made damn sure that every exit was memorized.

Eric cradles the back of his head as he approaches, an air of annoyance following him and doesn't stop until he reaches Harvey. "I don't even have to second guess that this had something to do with you."

"Sir, there was a problem with my equip-"

"You're off the course," Eric all but barks, throwing his arm out to signify no argument, and then turns on Kate. "And you…" For a moment she thinks he will command the same, her breath restricting in her chest, trying to keep herself standing tall. Suddenly she realizes with the almost unnoticeable softening of his face that he's not angry with her, but that he was masking his worry. "I want a report of this situation. Every detail."

"Yes, sir." Anything, she thought, as long as she didn't face the same fate as Harvey. "Eric, I'm sorry…" she says softly.

"Save it."

* * *

When they reach Dauntless, everything is still set in chaos. Kate follows Eric as he carelessly shoves people out of his path, heading straight for Mick's office. They don't find him there and Eric curses awfully under his breath.

"What's going on?" Kate retries, mainly talking to his broad back as he powerhouses in front of her. There was no doubt he knew what sort of plan Mick had in mind, to a certain degree.

He turns on her now, scaring her backward. "What do you think is happening right now!"

"They said over the message that they are ridding of the Divergent's. It's what we want, what we all want."

Eric can only snort in amusement. "You are so naive. Are you _that_ sheltered?"

She gets it. He was still pissed off from earlier with what have should have been a smooth return back to their home. But really, it wasn't entirely all her fault. Putting her hands on her hips, she tries a different approach. "Actually, yes. You should know."

"Who doesn't _conform_ in our society?"

Then it dawns on her, when she was surrounded by the factionless earlier. "That's exactly…" She trails off and Eric nods his head.

"The factionless," he confirms. "It's a good choice of words. Why make an announcement to crack down on Divergent's; those who don't fit into our society, when we already are anyway. Why bother?" His eyes flicker across her face. "...Because he is looking for a rise; to bait the factionless."

"But why?"

"Why else, Kate?" he snaps, becoming impatient. "Make them attack first for undeniable evidence. It's what I would do. Then, slaughter them all."

"That's not the answer I was looking for, Eric. And I've read 'Strategic Planning' in volume two of my dad's books." She frowns at him. "Why is everything so sudden? Why the factionless? Why all the secrets and the deceptive words and stories?"

"I think it's a cover." Eric stops to take a deep breath. "I think it's all to do with the one thing that is so precious to Mick. The one person left related to Jeanine. Somebody who can't remember - or somebody who doesn't want to, at least."

" _Me_?"

* * *

"I'm Ben. I need permission to see Loretta." The flaring eyes of the factionless man are stern, himself breathless as he waits impatiently by the disheveled uniform of what looks like an old Dauntless; Loretta's most trusted bodyguard.

"She's busy." The guard's voice is deep, his battered rifle held threateningly towards him, blocking the entrance to an old half-blown house with shabby material draped over the front and flickering candlelight glowing from inside.

"It's okay, David, let him through. I've spoken with him before."

Ben scowls at David as he passes. "Dick," he mumbles to himself. The moment he's sent through, fighting with the drapes for a second, he spots Loretta smiling over plans and drawings covering two crates pushed together, a pen in hand. Her long, gray and braided hair almost represent a superficial crown around her head. Various items dangle from every possible surface; pictures, feathers, ruined furnishings of what was left of the world before. He tries not to let his eyes wander to the plans. Albeit an old and graying woman, she is powerful. He didn't want to give off the sense that he is in there to spy.

But he certainly isn't. He had a very good reason to be here. Without another word, and her dark eyes finally peeling themselves away from the paper, he steps up and places a laminated ID card on top of everything on the crates.

"Kate Jones," Loretta mumbles, holding the card pinched between thumb and forefinger. "Oh my…" She brings it closer to her face, then suddenly snaps up to scowl at him. "No harm came to her?"

"None. Once we realized who she was it was too late, more Dauntless arrived, ma'am."

"The absolute image of Rosemary," she speaks dreamily, rubbing the forever captured face of Kate. "I assume she has absolutely no idea about us. Because for one, she's not here with you." Ben shakes his head. Suddenly she places the ID inside her multiple layers of clothing, snapping her fingers for David. "Put out word _discreetly_ ," she insists. "Our prodigy is alive and well. It is a miracle. We've found her, our Katie-Lynn, at long last…"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

I'm sorry this has taken _so_ long. I kept promising to update/update/update and was useless. Kind of been on a spree today and voila. Forgive me one and all.

Thanks to everyone still following, commenting, etc, I read and treasure them all. And thanks to my Beta Murmelinchen who picked this up and sorted this out at short notice = BABE.

* * *

Eric strides ahead furiously while Kate tries to catch up, making their way towards her family's apartment, to where they think Mick is. Luckily they hadn't stumbled upon anyone and Eric's phone had gone silent. It made it more worrying if anything because that meant the other Leaders were too busy, probably trying to sate the other factions.

"Eric," Kate calls him, trying to get him to slow down. "Eric!" She jogs forwards, reaches out and grabs his hand. He jerks slightly, almost like he was about to pull away, but settles as he turns, impatiently waiting. "Does this change anything?"

Her voice quivers slightly with uncertainty and he pauses, his nose scrunching up in bewilderment. "What, Kate? What are you talking about? We have other issues to be thinking-"

"I'm not talking about us or about what happened at Candor," she clarifies, "I mean the course, our training, is that cancelled? Weren't we going to Amity tomorrow? Surely that's impossible now. If we've riled the factionless-"

Eric cups her face again, for once not caring where they stood, out in the open for any person to see, and kisses her, hard. "Thank fuck," he whispers. Kate is still stunned, and he pulls her to continue on their way, merely throwing over his shoulder, "Clingy isn't my thing." But he still holds her hand firmly.

By the time they reach the apartment they are out of breath, and Kate uses her key. Eric heads in first. Mick is sitting at the table with Lorraine in the kitchen. He slowly peers up between the two. "Well, this wasn't an unpredictable scenario. Where there is Kate there is Eric. This is becoming a regular thing?" Mick quirks a brow. "It's nice to see you take advice from your peers." Mick directs a look towards Eric.

"Cut the crap," Eric snaps. "The damage you've caused is irreversible."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Surely reminding the city of our cause is not an uncommon offence." Mick picks up his drink from the table and sips it.

"The way it was executed _is_."

Mick glances past Eric to Kate standing just off from his shoulder. "Kate, this doesn't involve you. Go to your room."

"No. I'm not thirteen." Though her stomach twists, defying a parent she'd always admired. "I'm not going anywhere."

"What a nice daughter you raised, Mick," says Lorraine sarcastically from inside the kitchen. "Kate, do as your father says."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kate exclaims while the twins appear in the hallway, crossing their arms identically, too interested in what's unfolding in front of them. Lorraine's face darkens. "What we want to know is why you and Jeanine have gone behind every other leader in Dauntless. In fact, every faction representative, and why."

"I haven't. Eric knew," Mick says casually. "To an extent." He probably thought it would make her doubt Eric, and she merely looks to him as he turns, an ebbing of guilt on his expression that she probably would've described as tactless if she didn't know him any better. Her view of him had changed since the willingness to use the truth serum on himself. "It's all for a purer community. It started with Divergents, it's leaked to the problems we have with the factionless. It's been in the works for years. Before my time in Dauntless ends, and before the factionless find the strength to rise against our conformity, we decided to progress." Mick gets up, tucks his chair in and scoffs. "Come on, Eric. You've known from the very beginning the plans were to cleanse the city. You also know that couldn't come into effect without a revolt from the factionless."

"That's not what's troubling me. It's the urgency," Eric says.

"I'd like you to leave, Eric. I have a lot to do this afternoon."

Mick was not willing to share anything. The urge to scream at him about the music box, about her mother was on the tip of her tongue. It boiled deep inside her gut. If Eric did leave, she was left with this mess, with these people she felt she didn't know anymore. "Eric leaves, I leave."

"Don't be stupid," Mick sighs. "The last thing Eric wants is to be weighed down with you. He has a job to do."

Kate slips her hand back into Eric's. His head lowers a little, his tongue in his cheek until he lifts it, a glazed over expression, the unwillingness to let her go now.

Mick nods slowly at the conclusion. "So, my suspicions are true." Lorraine's mouth hangs open, the twins shocked. "I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed in both of you. You have betrayed me. You've ignored everything I've ever said." Mick's face starts turning a shade of red, of anger, his eyes wide, spittle coating the table. "You were supposed to keep her attention away from others, **not** ** _fuck_** **my daughter**!" his voice booms, making Kate flinch.

"You are dead to me," he tells Eric. "You were like a son to me. But now you are nothing - _nothing_. And mark my words, Kate, you'll be back here soon, realising the massive mistake you've made."

"Mick, we didn't plan-" Eric tries calmly.

"Shut the fuck up or I don't even know-" He throws a hand up in the air, and Lorraine approaches, touching his shoulder in some sort of comfort, but he shrugs her off. "Don't touch me, woman!" The stupid woman does anyway. "I said, don't touch me!" He points to Eric, "You, get out of my home!" Mick sniffs, using the cuff of his sleeve to wipe the spit from his mouth. "Fuck it, I'm just going to kill you." He pulls his gun, and Eric pulls his with a lightning reaction, both aiming at each other.

"Stop!" shouts Kate. Both of them don't move, don't even glance her way. She steps in front of Eric, and with a grunt, Mick lowers his gun, Eric copying with hesitation. She pushes him by walking backwards, into the small lobby and through the door. The last sight being Mick, with a face fully set on revenge.

* * *

Eric's place is small, a neat and barely lived-in home, with an open lounge, kitchen and two rooms set off from it, being the bathroom and bedroom. It felt cramped and cold, the mere image of Eric returning home here every night a little heart clenching.

It's the first time she's been there, and they don't speak, both mentally going through what has happened. Though, Eric doesn't get to dwell much on it and had been off on his phone pretty much from the moment they got inside, contacting other members to get information.

Kate takes off her boots and goes to the bedroom to give him privacy as he paces with the phone stuck to the side of his face, and plants herself neatly on the end of his bed. Leaning on her knees, head hanging low, she fears what was going to happen next. The mysteries of her mother were thwarted by Mick's reactions, by her actions about deciding to leave so suddenly. Ones that she hadn't thought about since Candor mounted up on top of the present situation causing an immovable weight on her shoulders.

But there was a threat lingering that she knew Mick was totally capable of seeing through.

Eric suddenly comes into view, kneeling in front of her. "I have work to do. I've got to go. There's been reports of a factionless movement, groups around Erudite gathering. The wall has had reports of suspicious activity. Whatever your father has done, it's sent a ripple effect." She barely looks at him. "Hey," he strokes some hair from the side of her face, trying to joke, "A normal day at the office."

"It's not that."

"If you want to leave you can," he says a little sterner.

"It's not that either, Eric." She looks to him, her chest constricting. "He hates us."

"He hates me. He dislikes you... temporarily."

"How are you so calm about this?" She touches his hand that had drifted to her neck. "I know him. You know him. He will stick to his word."

"He's got a lot on his plate to be thinking of chasing me around Dauntless at the moment." He shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm pretty hard to kill when I want to be."

"This is all my fault."

"Stop talking shit. It's his fault. He's the one with the secrets. He's the one calling out conformity. It's _his_ fault," he stresses. "I just pissed him off. And that's something I'm good at."

"What should I do? Am I needed? Surely the security increase-"

"For the moment you can perch on my bed and look pretty." He stands up, caressing the side of her jaw and turns, but Kate stops him by tugging his hand. "I can't stay."

"I don't want you to stay," her voice trembles. "I want you to do what my dad thinks we already have."

"Everything is falling apart around us, and you-"

"Things are changing every minute. Time doesn't stand still. Life is short." He still seems torn, so she gets up, unbuttoning her jacket and throwing it off. She lifts her vest and discards it to the ground beside her, then her sports bra. She's toned, each fevered breath accentuating the muscles of her abdomen. Eric bites his lip, moving towards her, touching the skin, dancing down her ribs, then loops his fingers over the top of her leggings and drags her forward, crashing into him. They are breaths apart, her lips almost touching his. "I have imagined this," she admits, and he smirks.

"So have I." His kiss is featherlight, pausing only to shrug his top layers off. He has more tattoos twirling across the front of his body, down to his side and forming into the back tattoo she'd seen in the locker room before. There's a dusting of hair, his chest wide and intimidating.

She lets the kiss take away the hesitation, falling when he pushes her back onto the bed. Looking up at him, she keeps his eyes as the rest of his clothes disappear. She lets him pull her leggings and underwear down together, suddenly nervous when he climbs on top of her. But that melts away with the taste of his mouth, his tongue just gliding against hers, his hands sliding across her stomach and down, down where her core clenched.

"Uh," she hisses through her teeth, eyes closing, head falling back with the feel of his fingertips trailing across her clit and testing her. It makes her flush, his large fingers pushing inside her, his mouth finding her neck, his heat so close.

All the sensations have her gripping onto his arms, at the bed. Again and again stealing her mouth, all while she couldn't stop the pleasant sounds he evoked from her. She's lost in him, in herself.

When there is a pause, a shift in his weight, she feels pressure, as he slides the head of his cock into her, and they stop altogether, watching each other for a moment. He steadies himself on his elbows and looks down upon her face.

"Don't tense up," he whispers, kissing her lightly, pushing forward inch by inch. There's a wash of pleasure on his face, something she's never seen. It excites her to see the veil of his exterior dropping.

Eric's body is clammy, slowly rocking. His composure drops altogether as he tumbles to rest his head in the crook of her neck, chasing the build she can feel. It's wet and slippery, and he moves to grip her shoulder, thrusting a little quicker, pained that he has to hold back.

She grasps the back of his neck as his hand slips down to her breast, kissing her roughly, then uses it against her clit, concentrating on her more than himself.

But it didn't matter anymore. The touch took away the pain, and it drew out the build in her lower belly, the tension unravelling. He moved upon her, but the reality was lost as she arched up into him. His groan is quiet over the pulse in her ears and he thrusts one last time, panting. And it feels like her muscles melted into the bed beneath her.

Eric pulls out and props himself on his elbows. "It gets better," he breathes.

Kate begins giggling, watching him wiping the sweat from his temple. "Your bed talk is the best."

"It's nothing compared to those little noises you make." He smiles and his breath is still lost from their moment, a pink dusting on his cheekbones. "Couldn't get a word in if I tried."

Kate hits out at him. "Shut up!"

"Least you could have done is sighed my name…" he continues.

"I'm not versed in porn." Her laugh filters out as he sits up, remembering there was a job to do.

"I could get used to seeing you naked on my bed though. In fact, just naked, anywhere."

"Eric!" He's laughing as he gets up and rounds up his clothes.

"Stay here, Kate. If you get called on a squadron, don't go," he says, pulling his shirt over his head.

"I have to." She watches him pull up his pants and button them, grabbing his jacket. He leans down to her and kisses her quickly.

"I know. But at least I tried." Eric couldn't hide that he was a Leader first, his ethics last. And he knew that she would refuse to be left behind.

* * *

Mick brewed over a stiff drink in his office. Strangely, the floor is quiet as the ruckus throughout Dauntless had most of its members called out on duty. The only person he who had bothered him was Jeanine, sprouting question after question to the point he ignored her. And the guard he'd sent searching Dauntless for Kate had come up with nothing. The guard was now headed to Eric's apartment. It was the last place Mick wanted him to go to confirm his fears, but he _needed_ to know where she was in all the chaos.

"Sir," a young man pops his head in the door, into the dark of Mick's office, "Reports on locations you requested."

Mick flicks a wrist for him to come closer, and the young man places the papers on the desk, nods and leaves.

He searched through endless names until he found the one he was looking for: Eric Coulter, and his latest location.

He'd gone to the wall. To the exact place most of the Factionless protests of a new-world beyond-the-wall usually occurred. Though he had to admit, his plan of riling the factionless had worked, and no way in hell was Loretta able to reign in every factionless outpost, no matter what authority she seemed to hold over them. He'd created a wide panic, flushed them out of shadows and whispering with intentions to destroy the city and factions system.

Why would everybody hate him for trying to protect them?

And that fucking bastard Coulter boy had taken away his Kate. She hated him too without a single shred of doubt.

Mick downs the rest of his bourbon, sighing at the burn, then picks up the phone. It rings through to a team, a squadron not far from the wall, area code fifteen, the place where Eric would be.

"Interlinking walls above the base wall should be demolished immediately. Permission to rig and commence without fault or hesitation."

"Sir?" responds an officer, a mixture of wind and shouting in the background behind him. "There are people up there." The phone cuts in and out, a whistle piercing his ear and that makes him shift back away from the receiver for a moment.

"Can you hear me?" Mick asks haughtily, just hearing a confirmation above the scratching signal. "We've been intercepted. Execute the plan, soldier." Mick slams the phone down, and sits back, clicking his fingers.

* * *

Kate doesn't have to wait long until she gets a call from an automated response message linked to every faction member in case of emergency. And this was as good as any.

Leaving Eric's after a quick shower, she heads to the Pit which is flailing with life below her as she stands peering down the walkway. There is a queue of Dauntless suited with guns, other Leaders such as Max she could see clearly standing on a crumpled wall to address them. But to her relief, Mick isn't here.

Pulling back her wet hair into a ponytail, she can't help the betrayal of her emotions as she scours the bodies for Eric, who is nowhere to be seen.

A hand lands on her shoulder and it is her running partner Laura. "Kate! Do you know what's going on?!" She sounds panicked, out of breath.

"It's the factionless. But to what extent, I don't know yet." She stops as a group of people clump past them, taking the stairs, feeling the vibrations through the metal. It makes Kate's heart race, a panic in her gut. Laura moves away like she was about to follow them, so Kate pulls her closer to shout over the ever-increasing volume of voices. "Have you seen Eric?"

Laura shakes her head. "Let's go down and get kitted out. We can find out. I'm sure Max will know."

Kate follows her down into the rush, pushing and shoving, people shouting and overly excited conversations. Groups are exiting through the front entrance, and Kate has a strange feeling watching them. The feeling in her stomach doesn't last as she is pulled by Laura through a gap to a table and someone hands over a basic kit. She quickly assembles the belt around her waist and shoulders her weapon.

Max hops off the wall, and Kate sees her opportunity. She grabs Laura's hand and dives through the crowd until she can reach him. She raises her voice, shouting, "Max!" and waving her hand in the air until he spots her.

Max isn't happy. "Nice to see that father of yours getting his hands dirty," he scoffs.

Kate ignores him. "Have you seen Eric?"

"Eric's gone." He gets distracted, signing something a person hands to him. "He's at the wall."

"Is anyone leaving for the wall now?" Kate is still being tussled about, but holds her stance strong, even if an elbow did wind her.

"In about twenty minutes. You..." he starts to stammer, "You should stay here." It was Mick obviously playing on his mind.

"I'm going, Max," Kate says determinedly, a frown etching on her face. "But what about Dauntless?"

"Don't worry about Dauntless. Safety measures are being taken. I'm staying here. The other Leader's are out there." He pauses, glancing around the room but Max seems finished with this conversation. "Everybody, get to your positions!" he shouts across the sea of bodies.

Kate turns to Laura. "I need to get a place to the wall."

"It's probably full leaving so soon, you'll have to do a different section."

"No, I'm going to the wall," she says firmly, a softening on Laura's face as to knowing why. "Eric's there."

"Let's get you to the wall then."

Kate barely takes a step, a hand landing on her shoulder. "I've been ordered to take you back to Leader Jones." The man stands heads taller than her, possibly even taller than Eric.

"You can tell Leader Jones that there is a situation here."

"Orders are orders." His hand tightens on her shoulder, pulling her towards him. The only thing that stops the momentum is Laura still hanging onto Kate's other arm.

"Get off her, doofus!" she shouts, pushing at him. And Kate sees the opportunity, slamming her heel down onto his foot, immediately releasing her.

They leave him in their wake as they rush, pushing others out the way, then begin to laugh at the stupidity of it. Throwing themselves through the entrance, the trucks are waiting in line, being filled to leave. They pass between each one, asking which is going where until they find the right one.

"I'm coming with you," Laura says, excitement in her eyes, and they ignore the calls of line-jumping and hop on board. The minutes seem like seconds until the tail of the truck is lifted and ordered to leave to which both girls sigh in relief. On the steps of Dauntless, by the entrance, they see the man her father had ordered to find her, and Kate puts her finger up at him to the shrill shriek of Laura.

* * *

Max stops in the brightly lit doorway of Mick's office, seeing Mick's outline in the darkness.

"It's just me and you here. And I think we need a chat." Max smiles, strolling into the room.

"Not now, I'm busy," Mick says, trying to get rid of him quickly.

"Nursing a drink in the dark, yeah, looks it."

"Have you seen Kate?" Mick asks.

"Briefly. She boarded a truck, I think. Wasn't listening to my plea to stay put."

Mick slams his glass down. "What truck?" He stands, throwing his chair out. "Going where?" His stomach drops - he already has a pretty good guess.

"To the wall," Max says with a shrug. Up behind Max comes the man who was supposed to fetch her, and he shakes his head. "What's going on?"

"Why didn't you stop her?!" Mick picks up the phone to call the squadron he'd ordered earlier, but the number rings out with no answer. "Is there a problem with the phone lines? Why aren't they answering?"

"Lines are clogged. Keep trying."

Mick picks up his jacket from the back of the chair, dashing towards the door. "You keep trying! Tell them to cease all orders!" He taps the man by the door and tells him silently to follow. _There won't be enough time!_ his thoughts shouted.

Max scoffs, looking around at the darkness, then leaves. He was sick of doing Mick's dirty work.


End file.
